at he knew he would not do that, and that you “couldn’t pray a lie (192).” He then decided to write a letter to Miss Watson telling her where Jim was, who had him, and that she could get him back if she sent an award. Huck once again could not bring himself to pray that letter, so he made a final decision and told himself “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” then tore the letter up, rationalizing that God would punish him (192). With Huck’s ignorance, he knew that helping a fugitive slave escape to freedom was wrong, and a person would be severely punished if discovered, not to mention the shame brought upon that person. Huck’s ignorance was changed with Jim’s love and friendship. Through Jim, Huck learned that everyone is equal, and everyone wants freedom and deserves freedom. Huck could not turn Jim in because Jim had become his best friend. Jim stood by Huck through think and thin, and even when Jim could have been better off without Huck, he stuck by him. These characters are shown as victims of the times because they were all ignorant to the possibility that blacks and whites could be equal, no matter what color skin one has. Through the situations each character is put through, ignorance is shown, and a lesson is learned. Blacks and whites have no difference when it comes to surviving; everyone has wants, no matter what color skin one may have. Pap and the free slave had the right to vote, but Pap’s ignorance let himself believe that the slave did not deserve this right although he was as free as Pap was. Tom’s and the Phelps’s friends ignorance exemplified that ignorance can be taught or learned. Tom was taught that it was wrong to help a man gain his freedom dependent on the color of his skin. The Phelps’s friends learned that people are not as bad as one may think, no matter what color skin one has. The Royal Nonesuch’s behavior pro...
