Huckleberry Finn is based of off Huck’s own journey into self-awareness. Identity is a very significant theme in this novel. Throughout the story, we were able to understand what these characters experienced as people and how they were able to grow into the person they are at the end of the story.
During the course of the novel, Jim experienced extreme prejudice and hardships. As an escaped slave and a black man in society during the setting of this story, it is inevitable to be hated because of his race. In the beginning of the novel his identity was defined by his color and being a slave. He was not considered his own person. But when he escaped with Huck, he was still looked down upon but he experienced little bits and pieces of freedom throughout their journey. For example, the scene with the duke and king turning Jim into a “Sick Arab”; this scene was very significant because Jim experienced his loss of identity as a black man but he was “satisfied” since he gained some type of freedom. 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. 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?
What was ironic about Jim’s character was that he was actually free the whole time but only realized it at the end of the novel. He was his own person and followed his own identity but he didn’t have the knowledge to realize his own freedom. The idea of freedom and identity comes from society. Society is the reason why Jim believed he wasn’t his own person. Due to the stereotypical attitudes to life people were automatically categorized to be whoever society deems them to be. Black people are scum and white people are supposed to be respectable and educated. That’s why so many different people tried to “sivilize” Huck and conform him into societies ideal person. The idea of freedom and identity is more than the law or social standards.
Eric, Praneeth, Jasmin, Katrina
