ese examples finds Huck again running to freedom of the river. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be, and that is Huck. The river is freedom, the land is oppression, and the oppression is no more evident than it is to Jim. It is somewhat surprising that Huck’s traveling companion is Jim. As anti-society that Huck is you would think that he would have no qualms about helping Jim. But Huck has to have feelings that slavery is correct so we can see the ignorance of racial bigotry. Huck and Jim’s journey begins as Huck fights within himself about turning Jim over to the authorities. Finally, he decides no to turn Jim in. Th is a monumental decision for Huck to make, even though he makes it on the spot. This is not just a by running away from home. It is someone who has decided to turn his back on everything “home” stands for, even one of its most cherished beliefs. In the way, Twain also allows to let us slave our thoughts of bigotry behind also and start to see Jim for who he really is, a man. Even though Huck has made his decision about Jim, early in the voyage we see Huck’s attitude towards Jim racist. Eventually Huck plays a mean trick on Jim and we see Huck begin to change his attitude, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a Nigger; but I done it, and I wasn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither.” (86) Later on in the story Huck becomes very caring and protective for Jim, where this reaches a climax at the point where Huck saves Jim from two slave catchers by tricking them to think Jim was Huck’s small pox ridden father. The dialogue between Huck and Jim also illustrates that Jim is more than someone’s property. He is a human being with feelings, and hopes for a better future. He is not some ignorant, uncaring sub-human, but plainly the opposite. Twain does not necessarily come our and say that slavery is evil, t...
