Huck Finn

My argument is basically going to be that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist book and that it should be taught in school, but should be taught to seniors only. One of the parts of the novel that I want to use is when Huck returns to Jackson Island after learning that some of the townsfolk are going to go looking for the runaway slave on Jackson Island and he says "'Git up and hump yourself, Jim! There ain't a minute to lose. They're after us!'" (97) This line shows how Huck is thinking of Jim and him as in the same boat, as comrades. No one is after Huck, because everyone thinks that he's dead. The only one that they're after is Jim, but Huck still says "' They're after us!'" Another scene that I want to use is when Huck meets up with the slave catchers, but protects Jim from them instead of turning him in, which is what he has been taught to do all his life. Before Huck leaves the raft to see what the other men want, Jim says that pretty soon he'll be a free man because of Huck. That Huck is the "'bes' fren' Jim's ever had'" (140) and the only one that he has right now. That makes Huck feel really guilty about having to rat Jim out, and he ends up lying to the slave catchers to help Jim and keep him free. I want to use the part just before that, when Jim is talking about stealing his children and wife when he's free. Huck remarks that he is sorry to hear Jim talk like that, that it is such a lowering of him. This line shows that Huck believed that Jim was a good person, who wouldn't steal from other people. To my knowledge, many slaves were thought to be thieves back then, so Jim's talk wouldn't surprise too many white people, but it is surprising and unexpected to Huck. On page 315, Huck escapes from the King and the Duke and lites out to Jim and the raft. At that point, Huck 'borrows' a canoe to get to the raft, and in the storm that was going on, Huck could have easily left Jim and continued down the river on his own. Instead, he goes to the raft and tries to leave the Duke and the King with Jim. This action shows that Huck shares a feeling of comradeship with Jim, and sees him as a friend who is not to be left behind. I'll use Lionel Trilling mainly, for helping to make my point, and Jane Smiley as well, to argue with and find new passages that I can use. As for organization, I'll use the passages from the book in cronological order first, then use the critics to better finalize my points, and to bring up new ones that I didn't cover from the book passages.