22-36

Finally what I had been waiting for happened in these chapters: Huck made the final choice to help Jim become free without second-guessing it any longer. He decided that he would no longer listen to his “conscious”, which is really not his conscious at all, but instead, the way he was brought up to think. It’s interesting because Huck thinks he is neglecting his conscious, while in actuality, he is listening to it by helping Jim. I actually pity Huck. He thinks that he is going to go to hell for what he is doing. His upbringing caused this backwards thinking which was beyond his control. The fact that Huck is willing to do this for Jim really shows how much he cares for him. I admire Huck for that and I’m glad that his friendship with Jim prevailed. Except, in chapter XXXll, it is suggested that Huck’s feelings towards Jim do not account for all slaves.  When Aunt Sally asksHuck if anyone was hurt when a cylinder head was blown out, Huck replies, “No’m. Killed a nigger.”

       When Tom Sawyer arrived in chapter XXXIII, I was initially pretty excited. How convenient that he happened to be the real nephew!  I was really happy for Huck and Tom that they could be reunited and then work together to free Jim. However, I soon became rather annoyed with Tom and his completely unrealistic plans based off of romantic literature. There was nothing wrong with Huck’s initial plan to free Jim! I didn’t like how he shrunk back and let Tom take the reins when all Tom wanted to do was play pretend. Imagination can be a good thing, but not when it is taken too far. Huck has proven in the past that his practical, “simple,” schemes can be successful and Jim would have been freed by now if they would have followed his original plan to steal the key. Huck can be a leader but he chose to be a follower, instead.