Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), introduced the novel as a kind of sequel to one of his past renown books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). At first glance, most readers often view The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as nothing more than a comical sequel due to its very vernacular language, risky adventures, and often silly/childlike humor within the novel. However, this novel is more profound than what one might expect from it. Although it's not the main intention, the novel focuses on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life often found within the antebellum south. Slavery had not been discussed in Twain’s prequel (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), which often leads many to speculate whether or not Twain intended to subtly or deliberately discuss it while trying to convey a new comical story. For many that are familiar with the works of Mark Twain, he was known to often base such stories and characters off of his own personal experiences. Therefore, it may be possible that Twain could have felt that such experiences toward slavery were needed to be discussed, whether for good or bad. One of the most effective ways Twain does this is by creating Jim, a character who is an escaped slave that embodies the stereotype of slaves/ African Americans during this period.
Interestingly, although Mark Twain wrote the novel several years after the abolishment of slavery, it was still decided that the setting would be situated during the slavery era within America. This often makes readers speculate about this decision and whether him deliberately making the setting during the time of slavery, is significant in terms of the message that Twain wished to convey. Despite the reason, what is for certain is that the novel is successful in convincing certain readers that despite the many adult characters encountered (whether colored or white), none of them can be compared to the level of honesty and integrity that Jim conveys, which certainly begs the question about the humanity of slaves, as well as the immorality of denying basic human rights to certain ethnic groups. While Huck is the narrator and protagonist of the story, it is often Jim who widely discussed, due to his controversial portrayal as a slave from both the present and past societal standards (Illustrating Slavery). Although Jim may be a minor character, meaning that the story does not revolve around him, he is still essential to the story.
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Many characters in Twain’s novel are white slaveholders. Such characters include Miss Watson, the Grangerford family, and the Phelps family. Because of the hard labor that their slaves give, they all profit directly from their work, whether agricultural or economically. Meanwhile, other characters like for example the Duke and King (two con-artists with funny names) profit from slavery indirectly by turning in Miss Watson’s runaway slave, Jim, to the authorities for a cash reward. While the slaveholders profit from the fruits of slavery, the slaves themselves are heavily oppressed and exploited for their work. This is depicted when Jim is inhumanely ripped away from his wife and children, as well as when Miss Watson is deciding whether to sell Jim to New Orleans for $800 (equivalent to approximately $22,104.52 today). However, white slaveholders often justify the oppression and exploitation of slaves by ridiculously maintaining the racist stereotype, that black people are inferior to white people, whether in the novel or in real life, during the slavery era (Illustrating Slavery). This stereotype of inferiority is interesting because although Twain was not the first one to first realize this notion, he was one of the few to call it out during his time and briefly incorporate it into a possible theme of his novel that would lead future readers to critically think about the negativity of slavery as a whole.
Furthermore, in terms of humanity, Twain uses the character Jim as a way to call out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies often found during the same period that the novel is set in. The honest and helpful character Jim contrasts many of the white characters in the novel because he seems to be the only character free from biases and certain weaknesses that other characters possess. For instance, Miss Watson who seems to improve Huck in terms of morality, basic education, and religion seem to have good intentions of improving the conditions/ state of others. However, because she owns slaves, this is clearly a sign of hypocrisy because although she believes that a religious upbringing will make a better person, she completely ignores the religious messages about being a basic humanitarian such as treat others as you would have them do unto you, God shows no partiality , and there is neither slave nor free for all are one in Christ Jesus (Illustrating Slavery). Another instance is with the use of the character “Pap” Finn, father of Huck. Twain gives us a clear example with the use of Pap Finn in proving false of the racist notion that colored people are mentally inferior to whites. Pap Finn, a white man, is a town drunk and behaves very outlandish when intoxicated. Since Jim is portrayed to be a lot more civilized than Pap Finn, it seems almost inconsistent that a white man seems to be more animalistic and mentally unstable than a slave who is often depicted to be like such behavior in society. Thus, unlike the other characters (excluding Huck) Jim is known to stay true to himself and his beliefs. This is illustrated when Jim and Huck are sailing through the Mississippi River, and Jim constantly worries about Huck and takes care of him as he tries to help Huck to return home. Jim has no ulterior motives to act in such a way towards Huck, other than the fact that he actually cares for human life no matter the skin color. Therefore, Twain uses Jim as a way to show that even slaves can have such complex traits like kindness, sympathy, emotions, and literally any other trait that a white person can possess.
In conclusion, whether intentional or not, many readers have sought to believe that the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, possibly contains the theme of slavery, due to the portrayal of the stereotypical character, Jim. Although one cannot be for certain that this was Twain’s intention, the use of the minor character serves to show how slavery used to be portrayed within the same period of the novel’s setting. The novel shows that slaves are people too, and that slavery is immoral, no matter how one may justify it. Therefore, although the use of the character Jim was meant to be subtle, the portrayal of the character has been used as a significant and immense reference towards the negativity towards slavery.
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