Huck Finn Post 2

In one sense the relationship between Jim and Huck can be seen as brotherly. At the beginning of the story they start out just knowing each other as people who inhabit the same property separated by race. However, over time they develop a true friendship or brotherly relationship, as they grow close brought together by certain events. An example of the latter would be the foggy night episode wherein Huck apologizes to Jim for mocking him. Then he risks his life by traveling down the river under bad conditions to catch up with Jim. Also, they look out for each other and offer protection through “white lies” as brothers would do. This is seen when Huck tells the men on the raft that there was no black man with him, “Is your man white or black? I didn’t answer promptly. I tried to, but the words wouldn’t come. I tried for a second or two to brace up and out with it, but I warn’t man enough-hadn’t the spunk of a rabbit. I see I was weakening; so I just give up trying, and up and says:  He’s white” (Twain 93). Besides protecting each other, there is a special trust that the two of them share similar to that seen with brothers. Huck shows this trust when he tells Jim that he will not divulge to anyone about Jim’s running away, “Well, I did. I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it. Honest injun, I will” (Twain 50).

  On the other hand, the relationship between the two might be labeled as more like that of a father and son at times. For example, Jim describes his feelings toward Huck when he was lost on the river as if he had a broken heart which only a parent could feel under such a circumstance, “When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin’ for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no’ mo’ what become er me en de raf’. En when I wake up en find you back ag’in, all safe en soun’, de tears come, en I could ‘a’ got down on my knees en kiss yo’ foot, I’s so thankful” (Twain 89). Also, Jim is very smart and shows compassion towards Huck by trying to shield him from undue pain and agony as he realizes that the dead man in the house is Pap, “He’s ben shot in da back. I reck’n he’s ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan’t look at his face—it’s too gashly” (Twain 57).  It is also seen that when the two of them are on Jackson’s island that Jim is a wealth of information as he tries to disseminate and instill his knowledge upon Huck. Jim tells his stories of being able to predict a rainstorm, “Some young birds come along, flying a yard or two at a time and lighting. Jim said it was a sign it was going to rain. He said it was a sign when young chickens flew that way, and so he reckoned it was the same way when young birds done it. I was going to catch some of them, but Jim wouldn’t let me. He said it was death. He said his father laid mighty sick once, and some of them catched a bird, and his old granny said his father would die, and he did” (Twain 52). He also relates “you mustn’t count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because it would bring bad luck“(Twain 52).  There are no boundaries between the two of them despite their racial differences. Huck appreciates Jim as a father figure, and Jim has a strong desire to protect and educate Huck.