Monday, February 12, 2007

AIM 104 - Huck Finn Reaction Log

Huckleberry Finn Reaction Log

After spending the weekend reading the book, I was able to conclude it with many questions and thoughts. Many of these questions and thoughts can be easily answered by the difference in time between when the book was written and now. One thing I noticed was the amount of education the main characters have, Huck who is a young boy and Jim who was a slave both did not have an adequate education. This can be proven by their language or the way they speak which is quoted in the text. On page 18, Jim says “Say-who is you? Whar is you”, he does not speak properly. I did take into consideration that again, the time eras were different but still, the word choices and grammar were way off. They way Huck and Jim conversed was improper. Huck with no proper schooling isn’t without help, the Widow and Aunt Sally teaches him how to read, manners, and religion but he just wouldn’t take it.

The reason why this book was banned from certain libraries is because of the use of the word “nigger”, a word associated with racism. At our modern times, it is considered racist, but in the pre-civil war era, it was a word used very commonly to simply say a black person. That word was used both in racist terms and in not racist terms back then. When Huck refers to Jim as “nigger”, I don’t believe he was being racist simply because of the fact that it was only proper in those times to use that word. In their adventures to the free states, Huck and Jim, in general get[s] along well.

In the previous paragraph, I said that Huck and Jim gets along in general, this well relationship alternates as they travel, when they are on foot, Jim gets treated more like a slave, when Jim’s on the raft with Huck, they are more bonded. This is for several reasons. One, because Huck doesn’t want the public to know their identity, Huck acting more like a slave owner makes it less obvious that they are running away. Two, while they are on water, they have a chance to really talk and work together within their own private vicinity, they become more unified. They both have a common goal of leaving their homes and possibly making some money but with different reasons; Huck’s was to leave his drunk, son beating father, and Jim just wants to be free.

Overall, Huck seems to be a good kid, however it seemed so normal for him and other good people to own slaves, no one ever questioned whether it was wrong or right; however, we see it today as morally wrong of course. Slavery was so apart of society that people so often looked past it. No one saw it as wrong. That was difficult to believe even considering their time period.

Throughout his adventures, I questioned about why there was so much trickery in the story. I know that this book was a follow up book to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I think Huck got some of his characteristics from his friend, Tom. Huck always goes for the challenge and takes the harder way out of a situation regardless of obstacles.