Jim: Characterization
Chapter 30 By Victoria Ebner and Jackie Henigan
"We reckoned the n___stole it!" (Twain 220)
Accusation
The Duke and the King are arguing over who stole their gold, and they accuse each other at first, but they then agree that the gold must have been stolen by a slave of the Wilkse Family.
Connection
Even though Jim is not directly accused, this accusation of the innocent slaves portrays a message of racism. Jim has served both of them dutifully, and yet they still stereotype against his race. Douglass voices this point in the line “I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim” (Douglass para. 13), which attempts to help the reader recognize the extreme injustice.
Huck's Reaction
After this line, Huck said that the King’s words made him squirm. This shows Huck’s growing feelings toward Jim and it also shows the king and duke’s unreliability because Jim has served them undeniably and now they are accusing him of stealing their money.
Connection
After this line, Huck said that the King’s words made him squirm. “That made me squirm!” (Twain page 220). This shows Huck’s growing feelings toward Jim and it also shows the king and duke’s unreliability because Jim has served them undeniably and now they are accusing him of stealing their money (Infobased Learning). Douglass also refrences this point of the diminishing of humanity, stating “What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? The manhood of the slave is conceded." (Douglass para 7)
Friendship
At the end, Huck tells Jim everything and it creates a connection that Toni Morrison refers to in the lit crit about Jim being a father figure/ companion that he can talk to and converse with. This further shows that Huck feels a bond to Jim.
Connection
The fact that Jim was accused and now that Huck is telling him everything that happened after the arguement proves that Huck is developing a sense of Jim as a human. To this, we are presented with the question, “What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? (Douglass para 7). Because of Huck's attachment to Jim, he recognizes that Jim should know of this injustice "even though they aren’t talking about Jim this is sort of stereotyping slaves as everyone thinks slaves steal everything" (Gale)
Jim's Absence
Jim's absence in the argument is probably due to all of the talk about slaves between the duke and Huck. Jim probably feels offended by the stereotype of slaves that the duke is describing so he doesn’t talk much even though he probably wanted to stand up for himself. In refrence to Jim's absense, it can be infered that "because of his racial identity in a racist society, Jim always remains more confined than Huck does" (Infobased Learning). Douglass voices, " It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write” (Douglass para. 7) which creates a context to the reader.