In Chapter 6 and 7, Huck Finn sort of decides, “To Hell with social responsibility!” Well, not in so many words. After being locked up in an old cabin in the middle of the woods with his father, he gets used to the way his life used to be before the Widow took him in. Although the Widow, who is trying to get legal custody of Huck, obviously treats him better than his father, Huck decides it would be better for him to just run away (if he could only get out).
In Chapter 8, Huck realizes that he is not alone on Jackson’s Island; Jim, Miss Watson’s slave is there, too. When he asks Jim why he is there, he makes Huck promise not to tell and Huck hesitantly abides. "Well, I did. I said I wouldn't, and I'll stick to it. Honest INJUN, I will. People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don't make no difference. I ain't a-going to tell, and I ain't a-going back there, anyways. So, now, le's know all about it." This gives you the impression that this is just the beginning of Huck’s internal battle between what society portrays as wrong and doing the right thing. Jim explains that Miss Watson was going to sell him which would tear his family apart.
In Chapter 11, Huck goes into town undercover to investigate what is going on. He learns that Jim is a suspect for murdering him because he escaped the same time Huck was “killed”. Huck goes back to the island and tells Jim that they have to leave immediately. Here, Huck goes against his “social responsibility” of a white man by even telling Jim to leave the island. Any other person who follows the rules of society would’ve ratted him out.
Clearly Huck lives in a society where slavery is commonplace and acceptable. Do you think that means that Huck has a responsibility to go along with this idea even though it is morally wrong? Do you think that Huck even thinks of slavery as morally wrong or is he just a little boy who ran away who wants some companionship?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Huck should go along with this idea, but it does have to be a little off putting for him, doing someone you were taught to never do. At this point, I don't think Huck believes slavery is wrong, but I'm not sure he believes it's right. My prediction is that he will think it's wrong by the end of the book.
DeleteBY telling Jim that they had to leave, I believe that Huck broke several social responsibilities. Like you said, he broke his responsibility to white men. Also, Huck broke his responsibility to another person(Jim) by not protecting him against wrongful charges and suspicion. Huck, by not going back to town, also breaks his responsibility to the widow who has cared for him for some time.
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