The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

In Chapter XIV of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain contrasts Huck and Jim’s views through a discussion between Huck and Jim. Huck and Jim’s differing views provides incite into their characters and situations. Huck and Jim have differing views of their life on the raft; while Huck views life on the raft as an adventure, Jim sees it as a means for escaping slavery and seeking freedom. Huck states, “I told Jim all about what happened inside the wreck…and I said these kinds of things was adventures.” Jim counters by saying that “he didn’t want no more adventures.” Because Huck is free, he does not appreciate this freedom; he desires adventure and excitement. Jim, on the other hand, is a runaway slave; he is not free, and he is very aware of his situation. He does not desire adventure because he knows that it is dangerous and may threaten the freedom the he is currently enjoying. Huck describes Jim’s situation, stating “he crawled back to get on the raft and found her gone, he nearly died; because he judge it was all up with him…” To Jim, the raft is a haven, and on the raft, he was free from being captured. When the raft disappeared, Jim knew that he would either drown in the river or be captured and sold back into slavery.

Another part in this chapter that displays Huck and Jim’s differing views is the part in which they discuss king “Sollermun.” Jim states, “It lays in de way Sollermun was raised. You take a may dat’s got on’y one er two chillen; is dat man gwyne to be waseful o’ chillen? No, he ain’t; he can’t ’ford it. He know how to value ’em. But you take a man dat’s got ’bout five million chillen runnin’ roun’ de house, en it’s diffunt. He as soon chop a chile in two as a cat.” Jim is pointing out how people do not always appreciate what they have. Huck was raised free; he has always been free to do what he wants, so he does not appreciate his current freedom the way Jim does. Huck does not realize that all the risk he takes on his adventure could cost him his freedom. Jim, on the other hand, enjoys his current freedom, and takes careful consideration to preserve this freedom.

Jim’s views on equality can be seen in Huck and Jim’s discussion of why a Frenchman speaks differently. When Jim asks Huck why French people talk differently then they do, Huck compares a cat and a cow to a man; Huck tells Jim that a cat and a cow does not talk like a man because they are different from a man. However, Jim points out that a cat and a cow are not equal to a man. Jim says, “Well, den she ain’ got no business to take like either one er the yuther of ’em. Is a Frenchman a man?” Clearly, a Frenchman is a man, so Jim believes it is natural for a Frenchman to talk the way they do because all men are the same. This implies Jim believes that all men are equal; a slave is a man and is equal to a white man.

This chapter presents the views of Huck and Jim that gives insight into their characters. Jim’s views on freedom and equally are especially shown in this chapter. While Huck thinks Jim’s reasoning are nonsensical and views Jim as somewhat ignorant. Jim’s view are, however, representative of his situation in life.