The Role of Jim

At different times in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the escaped slave Jim fulfills many different roles in Huck’s life as the story progresses. These roles include that of the inferior black or slave, father, equal, and friend or even brother. These different roles do not necessarily occur in any chronological order, but change based on both the time and the circumstances. These changes of role also serve to illustrate the character growth Huckleberry experiences.

At the beginning of the book, Huckleberry treats Jim basically as we would expect a boy to treat another boy whom he has known for a long time, and with whom he feels comfortable with. The key point being that Huck does not treat Jim like a man, with the accorded respect: he treats him as he would another his own age because he is a slave, and does not ‘deserve’ the respect of a white man. Tom Sawyer and Huck play a trick on Jim by moving his hat as he sleeps in chapter two without a second thought. This may be interpreted to mean that Tom and Huck see Jim as a plaything, but based on Tom and Huck’s history of tricks and assorted troublemaking, this event falls into the category of the kind of prank the two would pull on one of their unsuspecting friends. 

Another instance of Huck’s failure to accord Jim his deserved respect is in chapter fifteen, when Huck decides to trick Jim into thinking he dreamed of Huck being lost in the fog. At this time Huckleberry does not at all consider Jim’s feelings, and acts purely for his own entertainment. Again, Huck has not treated Jim as we would expect him to treat a man, but instead, has treated him worse than he probably would another boy. 

The outcome of this event, however, reveals the true friendship of Huck and Jim, and ends any inequality between the two. Of course this changes at the Phelps’, but that is in response to the influence of Tom Sawyer, not the relationship of Huck and Jim. Though it takes Huck “fifteen minutes before [he[ could work [himself] up to go and humble [himself] to a nigger,” he does. Huck acknowledges Jim’s feelings, and is truly repentant.

From this event we also see the emergence of Jim’s fatherly qualities. When he believes Huck lost, Jim’s “heart wuz mos’ broke becase [Huck] wuz los’, en [Jim] didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er [himself].” Jim feels a great bond to Huck: one that extends past acquaintance and friend. These words would seem appropriate of a parent about their child, which is precisely the impression drawn from this event: Jim has become something of a foster-parent or father figure to Huckleberry. He will do all he can to protect Huck. This is first hinted at when in chapter nine he hides the identity of Pap’s body from Huck, and resurfaces later in chapter eighteen when Jim waits for Huck at the Grangerfords, rather than taking care of himself. This change in Jim’s purpose: from inferior or ‘boy’ to equal and father-figure also indicates Huck’s metamorphosis from one who looks out for himself to someone who allows another to look after him as well.

At different points we also see Jim treated as an equal, friend, or even brother. In chapters sixteen and thirty-one, when Huckleberry debates turning over Jim, he treats Jim as someone deserving of liberty, and as someone he holds in high enough regard to risk his own wellbeing for. Huck treats Jim as he would a peer in trouble: he does what he can (using his extensive story-telling skills) to deflect scrutiny and throw inquisitive people off the trail. Huck also listens to Jim’s advice on many occasions, and seems to take Jim’s judgments to heart with regards to his actions: he vows never to treat Jim as badly as he did in the fog, and, we can assume, learns a great deal about his own beliefs of slavery and the inequalities of his society.

In an almost perverse way, Jim’s idea of stealing his children out of slavery in chapter sixteen is another indicator of equality between Huck and Jim. Huckleberry is ashamed of Jim for speaking of stealing: something we would expect him to think of a peer, not a slave. He has become concerned with Jim’s morality and the righteousness of his choices. Though the subject is ironic: Jim wants to steal his own children out of slavery, to Huck Jim wants to steal someone’s property, which is wrong and thus concerns him.

In chapter thirty-one, when Huck decides to rescue Jim from the Phelps’, he decides to risk everything he has to help Jim. He puts Jim’s welfare above his own. During the extended escape plan, Huckleberry seems to regard Jim almost as a brother: he endeavors to do anything possible to free him, and protect him. He has decided to “go to hell” if that is the price to be paid for Jim’s freedom. Putting another’s freedom over the fate of your own soul is not a common occurrence, and would seem to be most likely the act of a family member towards his sibling or child. Huck throws to the winds any notion of the immorality of what he is doing (things that once bothered him greatly), because Jim is his brother, and they would do anything for each other.

However, while at the Phelps’, Huckleberry and Tom definitely take their time freeing Jim, though this is not a result of Huck’s indifference towards Jim or a relapse into the ‘plaything’ mentality. Rather, it is a relapse in Huck to his days of following Tom Sawyer’s lead. Huck does question Tom at different points during the fiasco, but largely does what Tom suggests simply because Tom is Tom. Jim’s wellbeing is never far from the front of Huck’s mind, but he allows the ‘cleverness’ of Tom to override his own sense of necessity and efficiency.

The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim is one that is both simple and complicated: they are equals, but members of different social classes; they exhibit qualities of a father and son, as well as two brothers; and one can never be sure how they are going to interact: their relationships is almost constantly in flux. At different times in the story Huck and Jim’s relationship runs from acquaintance to family and everywhere in between. Without a doubt, by the time Jim is free and Huck decides to head “for the territory,” he and Jim are very close friends, and both have learned from the other throughout their time together.