The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Independent Study Essay

The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has many intriguing characters. One of those characters is their slave, Jim. He has many diverse qualities that portrayed through his actions, speech and appearance. These qualities include loyalty, compassion and superstition. These qualities show us how Jim is a good person.

First, Jim shows the quality of being obedient and loyal. This is shown by how Jim stays with Tom Sawyer after he was shot. The doctor that treated Tom described Jim’s actions.

"So there I had to stick plumb until daylight; and I never see a nigger that was a better nuss or faith fuller, and yet he was risking his freedom to do it, and was all tired out too, and I see plain enough he’d been worked main hard lately. I liked the nigger for that. (p. 286)

The doctor was describing what an honest, loyal man Jim was. Jim stayed with Tom out of loyalty to Huck. Tom was Huck’s best friend . He could have left and been free. Instead he sacrificed his freedom out of obedience. This shows how Jim is loyal by what others (the doctor) say about him. Another point that shows how Jim is loyal is when he wears the Arab costume.

"He dressed Jim up in King’s Lea’s outfit-it was a long curtain-calico gown, and a white horse-hair wig and whiskers; and then he took his theatre paints and painted Jim’s face and hands and ears, and neck, all over a dead dull solid blue, like a man that’s been drowned nine days. Blamed if he warn’t the horriblest looking outrage I ever see. Then the duke took and wrote a sign on a shingle so:

SICK ARAB-BUT HARMLESS WHEN NOT OUT OF HIS HEAD!"

Jim could have complained about this arrangement. But he said nothing and just wore the silly costume. The last point that shows how Jim is loyal is when Jim fixes the raft.

"�She was tore up a good deal-one en’ of her was; but dey warn’t no great harm done, on’y our traps was mos’ all los’. Ef hadn’ dive’ so deep en swum so fur under water, en night hadn’t ben so dark, en we warnt so sk’yerd, en ben sich punkin-heads, as de sayin’ is, we’d a seed de raf’. But it’s jis’ as well we didn’t, �kase now she’s all fixed up ag’in mos’ as good as new,, en we’s got a new lot o’stuff, in de place o’what �uz los’" (p. 112)

This quote tells how Jim waited for Huck so they could leave together. He fixed up the raft and risked waiting for Huck. The risk was that the longer Jim stayed on land, the bigger chance he had of being caught. He took that risk by waiting for Huck. This evidence all proves that Jim is a very loyal and obedient person. But that’s just one of his intriguing qualities.

Jim is a very compassionate person. This is shown through many circumstances. For example, he comforts the King and Duke for the loss of their kingdoms.

"Jim pitied him ever so much, and so did I. We tried to comfort him,, but said it warn’t much us, he couldn’t be much comforted..." (p. 123)

The King and Duke lied and told Jim & Huck that they were past Kings that lost their Kingdoms. Huck saw through their lies, but Jim believed them. He felt extremely sorry for them and tried to comfort them. Jim shows compassion when he takes Huck’s watch for him.

"I had the middle watch, you know, but I was pretty sleepy by that time, so Jim