Huckleberry Finn Character Development

The novel Huck Finn shows that racism is something that is learned, not a mindset that one is born with. This is true because people freak out and say black lives matter even though all lives matter when an officer followed his training and shot a black person. In the novel this will be proved through the character development, plot development, and dialogue.

In the novel Huck Finn we see that Huck’s character development shows that he cares about Jim and that Jim has a family and that Huck spares him on Jackson’s Island and later on frees him from the Phelps when he's already free. In the novel Huck knows Jim has a family away up yonder and has feelings that Jim might not be able to see them again. “He was often moaning and mourning that way nights, when he judged I was asleep, and saying, ‘Po’ little ‘Lizabeth! po’ little Johnny! it’s might hard; I spec’ I

ain’t ever gwyne to see you no mo’, no mo’!” (Twain 198).

In this text it shows that Huck knows about the family he won’t ever be able to see again. This also displays the fact that Jim loves his family as much as a white person would. Huck cares about Jim and the fact that he might not ever get to see his family again which shows he’s not racist towards Jim. In Huck Finn the character developes into being lazy and not caring for an education and being civilized once he spends time in the log cabin with Pap. In Huck Finn it says that he likes to be laying around jolly and confortable and talks about the life that he has now compared to what that life has deveoped to be with Pap. “It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing, and no books nor study. Two months or more run along, and my clothes got to be all rags and dirt, and I didnt see how I’d ever got to like it so well at the widow’s, where you had to wash, and eat on a plate, and

comb up, and go to bed and get up regular, and be forever bothering over a book, and have old Miss Watson pecking at you all the time. I didn’t want to go back no more. I had stopped cussing, because the widow didn’t like it; but now I took to it again because pap hadn’t no objections. I was pretty good times up in the woods there, take it all around.” (Twain 30). Huck enjoys being lazy which could point out as being racist because slaves are forced to word while white people can be lazy the whole time. While there are no slaves in this hut it does show that even being at Miss Watson’s, he didn’t have to do much in the way of physical labor. This shows that Huck has developed to being lazy as a white while slaves are forced to work. Huck helps Jim escape because Jim explains how Miss Watson has been treating him which shows that racism is learned. Jim explains how Miss Watson was treating him and also that he was about to get sold down south where they are forced to work. “Well, you see, it ‘uz dis way. Ole missus-dat’s Miss Watson-she pecks on me all de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she alwuz said she wouldn’ sell me down to Orleans. But I noticed dey wuz a nigger trader roun’ de place considable lately, en I begin to git oneasy. Well, one night I creeps to de do’ pooty late, en de do warn’t quite shet, en I hear old missus tell de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’. De widder she try to git her to say she wouldn’t do it, but I never waited to hear de res’. I lit out mighty quick, I tell you.” (Twain 55). This shows that as Huck’s character develops, he cares for Jim and wants to help him escape. This also shows racism because Miss Watson treats him rough since he’s a slave and that he was about to be sold for a lot of money which makes it seem like slaves are more like property than people but Huck lazies around all day because his white. Huck cares for Jim since he was treated poorly by Miss Watson and that he was about to be sold.