Jim is one of two major fictional characters in the classic novel
Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAdventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in December 1884...
by
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted...
. The book chronicles the journey of Jim and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn down the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
in the antebellum
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Jim is an adult
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
who has escaped from slavery and is trying to reach freedom. Huckleberry Finn, a 14 year-old Caucasian male, has been taught that slavery is natural and that
abolitionismAbolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
is wicked; nevertheless, after befriending Jim, he decides to help Jim escape.
Jim may have been modeled after one or more slaves, or on the "shrewd, wise, polite, always good-natured ..."
formerly enslavedEmancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a 1996 music album by Prince...
African-AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
George GriffinGeorge Griffin was an African American born into slavery in Maryland sometime in the mid-1800s. In 1874, as a free man, Griffin came to work for Samuel L. Clemens . Details of Griffin's early life remain largely unknown, but there is much information about Griffin's later life, primarily from...
, whom Twain employed as a
butlerA butler is a servant in a large household. In the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house...
, starting around 1879, and treated as a confidant.
Mark Twain's parents owned several slaves, who he grew up around, listening to their stories and spirituals.
Jim is one of two major fictional characters in the classic novel
Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAdventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in December 1884...
by
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted...
. The book chronicles the journey of Jim and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn down the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
in the antebellum
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Jim is an adult
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
who has escaped from slavery and is trying to reach freedom. Huckleberry Finn, a 14 year-old Caucasian male, has been taught that slavery is natural and that
abolitionismAbolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
is wicked; nevertheless, after befriending Jim, he decides to help Jim escape.
Character inspiration
Jim may have been modeled after one or more slaves, or on the "shrewd, wise, polite, always good-natured ..."
formerly enslavedEmancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a 1996 music album by Prince...
African-AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
George GriffinGeorge Griffin was an African American born into slavery in Maryland sometime in the mid-1800s. In 1874, as a free man, Griffin came to work for Samuel L. Clemens . Details of Griffin's early life remain largely unknown, but there is much information about Griffin's later life, primarily from...
, whom Twain employed as a
butlerA butler is a servant in a large household. In the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house...
, starting around 1879, and treated as a confidant.
Mark Twain's parents owned several slaves, who he grew up around, listening to their stories and spirituals. His uncle also owned many slaves.
Fictional biography
Huck had been placed under the guardianship of the Widow Douglas, who, together with her sister, Miss Watson, are attempting to "sivilize" him. Tom Sawyer appears briefly, helping Huck escape at night from the house, past Miss Watson's slave, Jim. After Huck escapes from the cabin, elaborately faking his own death, he sets off down the Mississippi River, encountering the slave, Jim, who Huck learns has run away.
Jim's spoken language is written in his native dialect and has enticed a number of academic studies. Jim is simple and trusting, even gullible. But Jim’s simple nature becomes common sense and helps him choose the right path for he and Huck to follow. Jim does not recognize the duke and the king as frauds. Jim becomes an authority figure in contrast to Huck's abusive father, who can be appreciated for his wisdom and intelligence. Jim realizes he cannot stop the con men from controlling the raft, but tells Huck:
"I doan’ hanker for no mo’ un um, Huck. Dese is all I kin stan’."
Jim is sold by the Duke for $40 to Silas Phelps, Tom Sawyer's uncle. Once Huck discovers this, he tries to save Jim. When Tom shows up, he invents an eloborate plan to set jim free, mostly based on the adventure books that he has read. When the night finally arrives for the escape, Tom is shot by the men hunting for Jim. Although Jim could have chosen to leave Tom and gain his freedom, he stays by Tom’s side and is recaptured. After this, Tom lets everyone know that Jim has been free the whole time. Miss Watson had died a few weeks ago, and had freed Jim in her will.
Academic reception
Although
Huckleberry Finn is largely sympathetic to the plight of escaped slaves and critical of the institution of slavery, beginning in the 20th century the novel was frequently criticized for depicting Jim as a stereotype. According to Professor Stephen Railton of the University of Virginia, Twain was unable to fully rise above the stereotypes of black people that white readers of his era expected and enjoyed. Twain therefore resorted to
minstrel showThe minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
-style comedy to provide humor at Jim's expense, and ended up confirming rather than challenging late-19th century racist stereotypes.
Annemarie Hamlin and Constance Joyner offer "information about the views of the student and the teacher concerning the book's language as well as the portrayal of Jim, the main character of the book." According to Cliff Notes: "Jim’s logic, compassion, intelligence, and above all, his loyalty toward Huck, Tom, and his own family, establish him as a heroic figure."
External links