Jim’s Nobility in Huck Finn

Houlihan 1 Mike Houlihan Ms. Fledder opus English H April 15, 2013 grandeur at the Bottom of Society Someone who is noble is defined as a distinguished person noted for feats of courage and heroism. The character of Jim inhuckleberry Finnby Mark couple certainly fits that description. He risked his life in commit to free himself from striverry, and in doing so, helps huck to realize that he has worth. huckaback becomes aware of Jims sense of love and homosexuality, his basic goodness, and his desire to help others.Jim faces discrimination based on the color of his skin and is faced with the challenges of racist stereotypes. Twain characterizes Jim as a sincere yet naive character, representing the runaway knuckle down as a startly project who maintains his integrity as universe one of the sole characters of the novel who wouldnt be described as hypocritical, contempt the fact that Jim also retains a child exchangeable mentality. Throughout the novel Jim expresses nobilit y by dint of his selfless nature, his potence to good eyepatch resisting evil, and his ability to hold back with any misfortune that may befall on him or his love ones.Mark Twain allows Jim to break racist stereotypes by baseing a lot hu gentlemans gentleman qualities of him when he expresses his selfless nature. by assuming a role as a father figure to huckaback, who he watches over throughout the book of the novel. Jim protects Huck by shielding his view from the dead body that morose out to be Hucks father Pap. I went in en unkivered him and didnt permit you Houlihan 2 come in? Well, den, you kn git yo money when you wants it kase dat wuz him (320).This show of consideration and maternal care for Huck makes Jim out to be much humane. Jim demonstrates his humanity by not only caring for Huck physically, nevertheless also mentally and emotionally in shielding him from a good deal that could withstand been mentally or emotionally strenuous on soulfulness like Huck. Jims actions are partly a result of his inability to distance himself from the society which he has been conditioned. There are countless opportunities for Jim to start out Huck during the story, yet he remains by Hucks side.When Huck and Jim are separated in the fog, Jim says When I got all jade out wid work, en wid de callin you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz most broke because I was los, en I didnt kyer no mo what became er me or der raf (85). Jims freedom is then not worth the price of Hucks life, and lets people know that he would right away risk his life for Huck. Twain represents Jim as a paternal figure who maintains his integrity as beingness one of the only sincere characters of the novel, while contrasting this quality with the distinctive stereotypes of an uneducated slave during the American slave era.Jim is one of the sole characters of the novel who wouldnt be described as hypocritical, for he has the integrity to do whats right when everyone around him choose n ot to. after(prenominal) Jim and Huck decide to travel together on the disseminated sclerosis river the pair has to depend on each other for survival as they encounterpeople who cause obstacles and jeopardize Jims freedom. For example when Jim is constrained to accompany the king and the duke during their scams he says But Huck dese kings o ourn is jus reglar rapscallions dats what dey is deys reglar rapscallions (153).Although Huck is simply putting on an act and appeasing them in order to prevent turmoil. Jim thinks that it is ridiculous for someone to be entitled to a handmaid and recognizes that this is wrong by calling them rapscallions. This could also be twain fashioning a jab at slavery, which is Houlihan 3 ironic because Jim has been a slave all his life without asking questions. When Jim talks about his family, he mentions his little girl whom he had hurt due to the misunderstanding that she was deaf and dumb this proves to be pivotal point in the novel to stick out what kind of man Jim truly is. Oh, she was plumb deaf en dumb, Huck, Plumb deaf en dumb en Id ben a treatn her so (156). Jim, like most fathers wanted his child to experience manners and due to his ignorance of his little girls condition hurt her, for he believed she was just being rude. aft(prenominal) coming to the realization of her condition, he begins to feel guilt for being accidentally cruel. By being candid minded and at the very croup of the social order, Jim is able to see right wrong, while others who claim to be above him cannot see this. Jim continues to show his nobility by enduring the hardships that he is faced with throughout the novel.He talks about how he feels to Huck to the finis where he forces Huck to stop and think over how he set Jim. After talking down to Huck after playing a trick on him, Jim tells Huck how he feels and Huck even thinks that I wouldnt done that one if Id a knowed it would make him feel that way (142). After thinking this, Huck hims elf subverts the racist stereotype by humanizing Jim and acknowledging that the black man has the capacity to feel, and Huck allows his mood to be negatively influenced by the design that he hurt the feelings of a man he considered his friend.Jims condition as a human being is improved even more when Huck considers Jim as his friend, do him equal to a white boy. By making Jim equal to himself, Huck is able to humanize Jim and break the cultural intuition that Jim is bound to. Another example of how the book illustrates this theme is when Tom unploughed Jim locked up as a slave when he clearly could have been set free at any moment. Tom was aware Jim was freed from being a slave but decided to keep it a secret. This caused Jim unessential poor treatment. Houlihan 4He was forced by Tom to do things he didnt want to do. This is shown when Tom forces Jim to have rats, spiders, and snakes in his room. Tom says to Jim But Jim, you got to have em- they all do. So dont make any more fu ss about it (263). This was cruel because Jim was forced to live with the creatures that traumatized him in his past. though Mark Twain breaks some racist barriers with Jim, other stereotypes about blacks in the era are reinforced throughout the novel and Jim still maintains the strength to endure.Throughout the novel, Mark Twain both reinforces and disputes racist stereotypes of the time period through the portrayal of Jim as a noble character. Jim is depicted as a genuine yet unsophisticated character. Twain represents Jim as a selfless, paternal figure that is able to see right from wrong and maintains his integrity as being one of the only sincere characters of the novel. Twain contrasts this quality with stereotypes typical of an uneducated slave during the American slave era.Though he is a stoic character, Jim is able to span the entire novel as a father figure who protects Huck both physically and emotionally and, even after Huck plays tricks on him, forgives Huck and contin ues to protect him. Nobility is reinforced when Jims simple nature is revealed in various parts throughout the novel. Jims gullibility and his lecture relay the stereotypes of the antebellum south that blacks were somehow not people and were much lower than whites. These ideas become relinquished in the end, for readers are able to see the distinguished human being that Jim characterized.