Racism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Introduction
The adventures of huckleberry start with a brief accommodation of the dealings in the novel preceding it, the adventures of Tom Sawyer. The novel is set in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. The location of the town is along the Mississippi River. At the end of the preceding novel Huckleberry Finns, a poor boy who lives with a drunk father find a stash of gold hidden by robbers. This he does with the help of his friend Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer is a white middle-class boy with an overactive imagination. Huck gains some money that he puts in the bank. A window by the name Douglas adopts Huck and tries to civilize him. Huck is a teenage boy with a drunken father who denies his education. He finds it hard to fit in the society. Huck and Jim, a runaway slave, embark on a journey along the Mississippi river to reach the north where slavery and racism is illegal. Although the novel uses the word “nigger” several times, the novel is antiracism. Racism was a major problem facing the country at the time, especially in the south. The theme of racism recurs throughout the novel as the writer attempts to demonstrate that everybody is the same at heart regardless of the rigid southern mindset.

Racism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The adventure of Huckleberry Finn is an optimistic and youthful story. The book attempts to address the issues facing society at the time, especially racism and slavery. Although the book is unclear if slavery still prevails, it is set during the mid 19th century a few years subsequent to the end of the civil battle. The setting is in the rural parts of the south where the Whites dominate. The confederates ways of slavery and oppression of the African Americans are dominant. The south is a dangerous place for a Black person whereas the north is the haven that Black persons seek (Friskin 15).
Jim, a character in the novel represents the Black people in the south seeking freedom by escaping to the north. Miss Watson the owner of Jim intends to sell him to a plantation near her place. Jim fears separation from his family and mistreatment. He flees his owner to avoid permanent separation from his family. He travels up north along the Mississippi. Huck also flees from his oppressive father who locks him in a room and mistreats him after getting drunk. Huck meets Jim and they both set off along the Mississippi on their northbound adventure. Although Jim and Huck appear to share a family like bond, the social views on racism are clear in their relationship (Hamlin & Constance 38). Jim is always at the mercy of Huck simply because he is white. The society offers a handsome reward for the return of a runaway slave, a reward that Huck would collect if he turned in Jim. This does not occur to Huck, however; Jims fear of this result in his agreeing with everything Huck suggests despite his better judgment. Huck does not agree with the rules of society and treats Jim as an equal. Although Huck does not agree with the society views, his upbringing is still hard to shake off. He often refers to Jim as a nigger (a degrading word) and feels guilty for hiding Jim from White men looking for runaway slaves along the Mississippi (Hamlin & Constance 19).
When Jim and Huck get to the home of Sawyers relatives, the racism discrimination is clear. Both Jim and Huck are running away from oppression, Huck reception is with open arms; Jim is incarcerated in a barn. Jim mistreatment is simply because he is black and is running away from his owner. When Huck is talking to Sally about the accident involving a steamboat, he describes that only a Black man was killed in the explosion. Sally responds by saying it is a good thing that no one was hurt. This indicates that the view of Black people at the time is that they are less of humans (Friskin 19). The lives of Black people are less valuable, and they are easily disposable. Huck throughout the story uses his conscience rather than his upbringing to make decisions regarding his friend Jim. In the opening of the novel, Huck believes Jim is an unintelligent, credulous, and naive individual. Huck and his friend Tom play tricks on Jim. Huck indicates that Jim will believe anything when he says, Afterward Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance..." (Twain 5). Later in the novel Huck becomes used to Jim and stops playing the tricks on him.
In the novel, Huck represents the ideal society that does not judge by the color of the skin. He sometimes fails to see the similarities between him and Jim. When Huck discovers the duke and the king are frauds, he withholds this information from Jim. Huck thinks Jim cannot understand this. This is probably because of an early event in the novel. Huck tries to explain to Jim the King Solomon story. Jim refuses to accept Hucks story because he has heard another version of the story. Huck indicates this when he says, If he got a notion in his head once, there was no way of getting it out again" (Twain 71). Huck refusal to confine in Jim indicates he still views himself different from Jim. Huck thinks Jim is indifferent and dumb. In a later event, Jim does something that proves to Huck that he is no different from him. After Tom is shot, Jim tries to nurse his wound. Jim does this regardless of them being pursued because of attempting to flee. Jim sacrifices his freedom to nurse Toms wound. This action by Jim makes Huck realize that although Jim has a black skin, he is white on the inside (Hamlin & Constance 31).
The novel in the first few chapters depicts Jim as the society at the time views him. The novel at first makes refer to Jim only as the masters property. He is Miss Watson slave. Jim living in Miss Watson estate is valued only as property. She plans to sell him to a family likely to treat him less human. Selling Jim would result in separating him from his family something that does not seem to bother Miss Watson. The treatment of Jim indicates that society believes Blacks are without emotions and personalities. Huck at the beginning depicts the societys attitude toward the Blacks. This is because Huck is a product of the society. Huck reflects the cruelty and injustice the south had toward the Blacks. He plays tricks on Jim and engages him in conversations that make him appear foolish. This is probably to assert his believe that he is superior to Jim. Later in the novel Huck feels bad for playing tricks on Jim. This is because the tricks hurt Jims feelings. He eventually overcomes his stereotype and apologizes to Jim. He also promises he will never play tricks on him again (Friskin 21).
The White majority in the south believed Blacks are inferior even in their reasoning, thinking, and learning. In one conversation Huck has with Jim, he insults him because he does not agree with him. He ends the conversation by saying, I see it warnt no use wasting words  you cant learn a nigger to argue. So I quit (Twain 104). Instead of attempting to reconcile their differences, Hucks frustration leads him to dismiss the black mans intellectual capacity. Toward the end of the novel Huck has overcome his racism tendencies and he and Jim become very good friends. Despite his upbringing that teaches him Blacks are inferior, he learns from Jim as much as Jim learns from him. At the end of their long struggle, both Huck and Jim achieve freedom. Jim achieves freedom from slavery, whereas Huck achieves freedom from his oppressive father. Both Huck and Jim achieve freedom from the rigid mindset of the south that advocate for the supremacy of the Whites (Hamlin & Constance 47).
Conclusion
The novels setting is after the end of the civil war. The confederate states have lost to the union states. Slavery is illegal in the United States. Black people in the northern parts enjoy freedoms, including the right to vote and hold political office. In the south slavery is illegal, however, racism persist because the people are reluctant to change. Twain in his novel narrates the struggle the Blacks go through and the change society is going through. This he does from the perspective of a young boy by the name Huck. The main purpose of the civil war was the separation of the north from the south. The north wanted to abolish slavery throughout the United States whereas the south wanted it to remain. The south lost the war but did not accept the full rights of the Blacks. Blacks in the south are oppressed by the predominantly white society. They seek to move to the north where they enjoy greater freedoms. Jim represents the black people in the south. The novel discusses the conflict that continues in the south even after the end of the civil war.
 Works cited
Friskin, Shelley Fisher. “Teaching Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn Teachers Guide/Culture Shock. 1999: pp. 13-22.
Hamlin, Annemarie, and Constance Joyner. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature." Radical Teacher.80 (2007): 12, 18-48.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin, 1986: pp. 4-105.