Loftus and the rest of white society differentiate between an abused runaway slave and an abused runaway boy, Huck does not. The two even engage in a bit of moral philosophizing about stealing. Though their resolution to give up stealing a few items to render their other stealing less sinful seems childish, it nevertheless represents an attempt to reconcile practical and moral concerns.
There is no good reason why Huck and Jim should tie up to the wrecked ship, particularly at night and in a storm, but Huck is unable to resist. The two are lucky to escape, and the incident proves to be another reminder that even on the river they are not safe from the problems that plagued them at home—violence, cruelty, and powerlessness at the hands of any white adult. When Huck acts like Tom Sawyer, trouble follows, but when he acts like himself—when he seeks to interpret and react to experience in a practical manner—things generally turn out fine.
In a number of instances in the novel, Jim protests when Huck formulates a foolish plan, but eventually gives in to the boy. After all, Huck, though a child, is a free, white child who could turn in Jim at any time and collect a large reward for doing so.
Ace your assignments with our guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why does Jim run away? What trick does Huck play on Jim after they get separated in the fog? When does Jim earn his freedom? How does Huck escape from imprisonment by his father?
Huck then goes ashore and finds a ferry night-watchman. To try to save the robbers, because he feels guilty leaving them for dead, he tells the man that his family ran into the wreck while traveling downriver and that they are stuck there. The man immediately gets his ferry moving to try and save them. However, before he gets very far, the wreck floats by, having come loose and sunk even further.
Huck realizes that all three men aboard the wreck have surely drowned. Disappointed, but proud of his effort, Huck paddles downriver until he meets up with Jim. Together they sink the skiff and tie up to wait for daylight. Huck and Jim spend some time relaxing and discussing various things.
Huck tells Jim all about kings and other aristocratic personages, and Jim is very impressed and interested. However, when Huck mentions King Solomon, Jim starts telling him that Solomon was one of the most foolish men who ever lived. Jim comments that any man who had as many wives as Solomon would go crazy, and that the notion of chopping a child in half in order to figure out which woman is the rightful mother is plain stupid.
Jim remarks that the issue was about a whole child, not a half a child, and Solomon would have shown more respect for children if he had not had so many. Huck tries to explain the moral lesson Solomon was trying to teach, but Jim hears none of it. Next, Huck tries to explain to Jim that Frenchmen speak a different language.
Jim is surprised by this and cannot understand why all men would not speak the same language. Huck tries to make the analogy that a cat and a cow do not speak the same language, so neither should an American and a Frenchman. Jim then points out that a cat and a cow are not the same species, but Frenchmen and Americans are. He concludes that Frenchmen should therefore speak the same language he does.
At this point Huck gets frustrated and gives up trying to argue with Jim. Jim is hoping to reach Cairo, at the bottom of Illinois where the Ohio river merges with the Mississippi.
From there, both he and Huck will be able to take a steamboat upriver and into the free states where Jim will finally be a free man. As they approaching that section of the river, a dense fog arrives and blankets everything in a murky white.
They land on the shore, but before Huck is able to tie up the raft, the raft pulls loose and starts floating downstream with Jim aboard. Huck jumps into the canoe and follows it, but soon loses sight of it in the fog. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Mark Twain. Previous Next. Chapter 12 Huck and Jim raft away down the river, with Missouri on one side and Illinois on the other.
They travel at night, tying the raft to the shore and covering it up during the day. They stop for the night and resolve to take the canoe upriver but in the morning discover that it has been stolen.
Later, a steamboat collides with the raft, breaking it apart. Jim and Huck dive off in time but are separated. Huck makes it ashore, but a pack of dogs corners him. We see in these chapters that Huck, though open-minded, still largely subscribes to the Southern white conception of the world. Huck also genuinely struggles with the question of whether or not to turn over Jim to the white men who ask if he is harboring any runaway slaves.
Over the course of these chapters, as he spends more time with Jim, Huck is forced to question the facts that white society has taught him and that he has taken for granted. When Huck tells the tale of King Solomon, who threatened to chop a baby in half, Jim argues that Solomon had so many children that he became unable to value human life properly. Jim points out that both are men and that the analogy is inappropriate. When Huck reaches this realization, he makes a decision to reject conventional morality in favor of what his conscience dictates.
Ace your assignments with our guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why does Jim run away?
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