Although this is the last few chapters of the book, I still
see many signs of enslavement, both current and new. For example, Jim is still
trapped inside the shed with both Huck and Tom trying to think of ideas to get
him out. To me, Jim is enslaved within his own mind. When Tom and Huck actually
see Jim and explain situations to him, he is confused but just decides to go
along with them. This is another sign of enslavement for him. He is so to say
enslaved within the boys’ grasp because he will willingly do anything for them
and listen to anything they say. That’s called mental enslavement in my
opinion. Another person that we see as difficult in these last few chapters is
Nat. Nat is enslaved and is controlled by both Huck and Tom and he does not
even know it himself. He is superstitious and even believes that witches are
hunting him. He shows many signs of being gullible by even believing that he
has to bake a pie for that to be the only cure. Meanwhile, he doesn’t even know
that Huck and Tom are scheming to put a rope inside the pie. As you can see,
many forms of enslavement have continued to happen even when the book was about
to be over. If you think about this another way though, Huck and Tom have
lowered their standards and now could be considered as the King and Duke.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Huck Finn Chapters 26-30 Reflections
In these 5 chapters (26-30), Huck
and Jim are still trapped by the King and Duke.
Even worse, Mary Jane along with the King continues to pester Huck about
where they came from, and especially asking him if he ever saw the King. My theme is still freedom and enslavement,
and I want to take a moment to pay attention to this important detail for a
second. In this part of the story, this is a sign of enslavement. Now as
readers thinking of the word enslavement, we all think of slaves being held
against their will for the most part. This is a different type of enslavement
though. Huck and Jim are trapped not by their will, but by other’s persecution.
They have gotten into a big load of mess over this money and the King and Mary
Jane for the most part have enslaved them for unknown reasons. This is one form
of enslavement. Also I feel that
throughout these chapters, freedom is always an option for Huck. I feel like
Huck can always just escape on his own if that was what he really desired. We
see that he is good at sneaking out when he sneaks out the window and climbs
down the ladder of the house. I think the real question we have to ask
ourselves is why didn't Huck run away? Why did he stay? I believe the answer to
this is because he feels he is leaving a piece of something behind. He sees the
funeral for his so-called-brother. He feels bad and wants to repay these people
and does not want to steal from them. But it is shown throughout the chapters
that he always has the option of being a free man. These are just some of the
little things that I noticed for my theme within these few chapters.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Freedom and enslavement - group 4
My theme is freedom and
enslavement. There are many forms of freedom and enslavement throughout this
book. Freedom especially for Jim and Huck comes along quiet often. One example
of freedom for the both of these characters is that Huck escapes from society
and the rules that follow it, wanting to be his own man. Huck has a different
scenario, based on the fact that he hears Miss Watson talking about selling
him. He becomes the runaway slave instead of a free slave. The island that both
Huck and Jim appear on serves as the runaway island in this book. Not only do
they realize that this could be their home, but also that they are free from
civilization and enslavement. Jim for the most part learned the biggest lesson.
Enslavement was not going to hold him back from going where he wanted to go.
Enslavement was also a big part of this story especially when Huck and Jim
happened to go onto the boat with the murderers and there was no way off. That
was not enslavement like the 1900’s, but it still portrayed a different meaning
of enslavement. They were trapped with nowhere to go, with robbers on them too.
Another form of freedom was when Jim and Huck were on the island and were just
enjoying life. Huck did not worry too much as long as he had his food, water,
and smoke. He would just sit down and have a smoke without letting the
mysteries and confusion of the world get to him. Jim would relax also after the
whole snake incident was done and they both just sat down next to the campfire.
Many forms of freedom and enslavement were shown throughout this book, and
there will definitely be more to come in the future.
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