“Sick Arab—but harmless when not out of his head” (155).
In this scene of the novel, Jim complains about being tied up so instead of keeping him on the boat, the duke and king untie him and change his physical appearance. What we found ironic was that the duke and the king were willing to help Jim using this new scheme even though he was a black man. It was also interesting how they dressed him up in King Lear’s outfit since the idea of being a king is the total opposite of what Jim actually was—an escaped slave.
This scene was also significant in referring to the idea of freedom. Huck said, “Jim was satisfied” in his situation (155). How does Jim see himself? What does freedom mean to him? In this scene he is physically and technically “free” since he isn’t tied to the boat anymore, but at what cost?
Huck described his appearance “like a man that’s been drownded nine days” (155). We thought this description was significant because Jim can only be “free” if he is not himself. He had to change his entire appearance in order to prevent any judgment. Jim’s identity is “dead” at this point of the novel. He lost his own identity as a black man for the sake of his short-lived freedom.
Katrina, Jasmine, Praneeth
