FRIENDSHIP AND BETRAYAL!
Well in Huck Finn this theme exists. We see bonds forming with Huck and Jim as they continue their journey. Before Jim came into the picture, Huck continued life on his own. He is used to surviving alone and shows that he has tremendous survival skills, particularly when he fakes his own death. But when the two companions meet on Jackson's Island, Huck shows a feeling of relief. He realizes he is not alone in his adventure and is glad to have Jim by his side. This is a prominent time in the book where Huck and Jim establish a friendly relationship. As Jim and Huck continue their Journey Huck plays a childish joke on Jim. He finds a dead snake and puts it in Jim's sleeping bag, thinking it'll just give him a good scare. But Jim evidently gets bitten by a snake who comes to settle in Jim's sleeping bag because it see's its dead companion. This is an example of betrayal and shows Huck is still immature. But feeling sorry for Jim, Huck dresses up as a women and goes into town for information rather than Jim. This show's Huck feels compassion towards Jim and regret for his foolish deed. This also shows Huck is willing to risk himself and go out of his way to see to Jim's well being. These qualities demonstrate the feelings Huck feels towards Jim and how he values the friendship and bond they share together. Huck and Jim continue their adventure, despite the small bit of betrayal that Jim is unaware of.
3 comments:
Hey Omar, I totally agree with you. Huck and Jim are becoming better friends by traveling together and having to rely on each other. But I think that in the beginning of their journey, when Huck was pulling the snake prank, that even though he may have felt bad afterwards, while he was doing it Huck was set in the mindset that it was okay to do things like that to Jim because of being around Tom for so long. Of coarse they become friends later on, we see that in later chapters, but i think that in the beginning, Jim and Huck both went with each other out of necessity and suspicion
Hey Omar! You pointed out great examples from the novel. One of my favorite was when you mentioned Huck dressing up as a women and going to town for information rather than Jim. However, I disagree with this example being a betrayal, but more of a sacrifice. If Jim was sent into town, already being African-American he would have been captured and sent back to continue being a slave. Huck kind of gave Jim a helping hand and decided it was better for him to go instead. Besides, this benefited both of them, because both of them need the information on the escape and death. What I think can be considered a betrayal was when Huck knew about the boat calling for all escaped slaves. Knowing that was the purpose of why Jim escaped, Huck kept it to himself. The reason why I think why Huck kept it a secret was when you mentioned in your blog "These qualities demonstrate the feeling Huck feels towards Jim." Both Jim and Huck kind of need one another and they both don't really know for what. All and all, great response!
Nice start, but continue to delve deeper into some of your ideas. Veriane, I particularly like your close examination of this in your comment! Think about this - is Huck and Jim's budding relationship realistic based on what we know about life during this time period? Do you think that Jim would just be so friendly to a young white male he once thought was almost like a master? Do you think he would be more bitter - especially now that he is running away and free?
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