Jim is one of two major fictional characters in the classic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by...

by Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

. The book chronicles the journey of Jim and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn

Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic Mark Twain novel.Huckleberry Finn may also refer to:*Huckleberry Finn , a fictional character in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer...

 down the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 in the antebellum Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. Jim is an adult African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 who has escaped from slavery and is trying to reach freedom. Huckleberry Finn, a 11-year-old Caucasian male, has been taught that slavery is natural and that abolitionism

Abolitionism

Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

 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 enslaved

Emancipation

Emancipation 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 champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...

 African-American George Griffin

George Griffin (butler)

George Griffin was an African American born into slavery in Maryland sometime in the mid-19th century. 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...

, whom Twain employed as a butler

Butler

A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...

, 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

Jim's spoken language is written in his native dialect and has enticed a number of academic studies. As an example of such dialect, during part of the story Jim was talking to Huck about his family and more specifically about his daughter and how he found out she was deaf. He found out she was deaf because he said he told her to, "Shet de do!" (Shut the door!) When he said this she just looked up at him and smiled, then he shouted, "I lay I make you mine" (I swear I'll make you mind [me]) and then he struck her across the face.

Jim is simple and trusting, even gullible. But Jim’s simple nature belies a common sense that helps him choose the right path for Huck and him 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’." (I don't hanker for [that is, desire] any more of them, Huck. This is all I can stand.)

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 elaborate 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 two months 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 show

Minstrel show

The 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

• Cliffs Notes Jim