Loyalty is a state of devoted attachment to someone or something. Loyalty is perhaps one of the most admirable qualities one can have; it is not only a measure of one’s true character, but one’s decisions as well. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there is no greater loyalty than that which exists between young Huck Finn and Jim. Jim demonstrates his loyalty to Huck by remaining with Huck as almost a paternal figure once he misses his turn on the river for Cairo, thereby continuing deeper into the hazardous South. Huck, in turn, demonstrates his loyalty to Jim by returning for Jim once Jim is taken captive. By doing so, Huck also demonstrates his loyalty to humanity through his betrayal of racism. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain develops the theme that loyalty is measured through one’s actions in times of crisis by having Huckleberry break class lines and befriend a runaway slave in the racist antebellum years.
Jim’s loyalty to Huck is best demonstrated through Jim’s decisions on the river. Jim, who is a runaway slave, heading to Cairo in search of work and his family, is heading downriver with Huck and misses his turn for Cairo. Jim’s decision to remain with Huck costs him a chance to find work and a chance to find his family, whom he dearly misses. Their mistake in navigation also leads the duo farther South into slave territory, bringing potentially hazardous situations for a runaway slave. Jim’s loyalty is reinforced later on in their adventures, as Jim passes his greatest opportunity for freedom in order to find medical attention for the wounded Tom Sawyer. Jim’s loyalty to the two young boys simultaneously contradicts racial stereotypes while affirming the consequences may accompany decisions of loyalty.
The Essay on Huck Finn Runaway Slave
Huck Finn's relationship with slavery is very complex and often contradictory. He has been brought up to accept slavery. He can think of no worse crime than helping to free a slave. Despite this, he finds himself on the run with Jim, a runaway slave, and doing everything in his power to protect him. Huck Finn grew up around slavery. His father is a violent racist, who launches into tirades at the ...
Huck’s loyalty to Jim, although perhaps out of reciprocity, is demonstrated best through Huck’s decision to withhold Jim’s location from the Widow Douglas and his efforts to free Jim from the Phelps family. Huck’s ability to recognize that Jim is a decent person, not just a slave, allows Huck to overcome his immoral roots and his supposed Christian obligations to return Jim to the Widow Douglas. Huck’s development as a character allows Huck to recognize some of society’s immoral institutions, among of which is slavery. When Jim is sold to a local farmer by the Duke and the King, Huck decides to attempt to free him, rather than leave him to be returned to the Widow Douglas. Although Huck begins a slight regression during his attempted escapes, Huck is able to work with Tom Sawyer to free his friend from captivity. Huck’s loyalty to Jim overcomes racial lines and demonstrates the sacrifices of true friendship.
Huck’s betrayal of racism and friendship with Jim demonstrates not only Huck’s loyalty to Jim, but his loyalty to humanity. In a time where interracial relationships were taboo, Huck befriends a runaway slave, knowing well the potential consequences of his actions. Huck’s decision to ignore his embedded racist values does not come without inner-quarrels, as the reader learns:
“All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ — and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn’t. And for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog.” (Twain )
The Essay on True Friend Huck Jim Trust
In the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it shows how two complete opposite people can find common ground and become friends. As their journey begins, Huck, a white boy, and Jim, a run away slave, find common ground through being runaways. Huck and Jim develops a true friendship by showing important values such as trust, compassion, and loyalty throughout the book. First of all, true ...
Huck’s ability to overcome his immoral roots demonstrates not only his development as a character as well as his loyalty to humanity. In his writings, Saint Thomas Aquinas suggested that individuals had an obligation to disobey unjust laws or that are “human laws that are not rooted in eternal and natural law.” By disobeying the Fugitive Slave Act and not returning Jim to the Widow Douglas, Huck breaks a law designed to degrade humans and perpetuate racism. Betrayal of racism is loyalty to humanity; individuals who pledge against degrading institutions pledge to aid their fellow man.
Loyalty, trust and friendship are formed over the hot coals of adversity. They are measured by one’s decisions in times of crisis, in front of consequences that may or may not be in the best interest of the individual who must make them. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Huck’s reciprocated loyalty to one another demonstrates the strength of character of both Jim and Huck in times of peril. When faced with difficult decisions, both characters are able to revisit their loyalties and make decisions that reflect their loyalties. Huck’s loyalty to Jim is not only an example of strength of character, but also an example how betrayal of racism is loyalty to humanity. Mark Twain weaves these loyalties together into an excellent novel with a theme is truly capable of touching every human in an uplifting manner.
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