Examples Of Racism In Huckleberry Finn

783 Words4 Pages
Racism and Friendship in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ¨Racism is man’s gravest threat to man- the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.¨ said famous theologist, philosopher, and rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Throughout the history of America, racism has been a prevalent issue, even today. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain in 1884, and was set in an infamous period of time in American history. In the novel, it is not socially acceptable for a white person and a person of color to be friends. However, in the novel , the characters Huck and Jim are not only friends, but together they shun the social norms of that time period. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884, so it can be inferred that the story took place around that time period. During this time in the U.S., many white southerners owned black slaves. These slaves were not seen as people, but as property; a commodity that could be bought and sold. In the novel, Jim, a slave, runs away from his master because she was going to sell him for $800 to someone in New Orleans. Jim can be quoted saying: ¨...en I hear old missus tell de widder…show more content…
Pap, Huck’s father, is so bad that Huck has to fake his own death in order to run away from him. After running away from Pap, Huck sets up his own little campfire, but he’s lonely. One day, Jim, who had run away from Miss Watson, stumbles upon Huck’s campfire. Huck is overjoyed when he sees it’s Jim. “I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn’t lonesome now. I told him I warn’t afraid of him telling the people where I was. I talked along, but he only set there and looked at me; never said nothing.” (Twain 37). This passage is important because this is the beginning of the actual friendship of Jim and Huck. Once they find each other in the wilderness, they begin to build their trust for each other, which would NOT be acceptable in 1800s
Open Document