Huckleberry Finn is a young boy struggling with complex issues such as empathy, guilt, fear, and morality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. There are two different sides to Huck. One is the subordinate and easily influenced boy he becomes when under the leadership of the racist and immoral Tom Sawyer. His other persona surfaces when he is alone, thinking about his friendship with Jim and wondering who to trust: his heart or his conscience. When Huck's ongoing inner struggle with his own duality forces him to make difficult and controversial choices, the reader sees a boy in the throes of his moral development. And it is indeed a struggle. Because even though Huck believes in the rules of the rigidly racist and provincial society in which he lives, a deeper, healthier part of him continues to make decisions that break those same rules. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Due to the society Huck grew up in, his racist mindset is apparent throughout the novel. Huck makes many derogatory statements about Jim, and although he does not realize that what he is saying is false, Huck's words leave the reader with a strong impression of his socially ingrained racism. Near the end of the novel, when Jim risks his freedom to take Tom to a doctor, Huck describes Jim as being "white inside" (207). This statement, although intended as a compliment, actually reveals Huck's deeply held beliefs about the inferiority of black people. Jim is not the only slave that Huck considers inferior to white people. When Jim tells Huck how he plans to get his children back once he is free, Huck expresses his horror: It really chilled me to hear such words...Here's that nigger I had so to speak helped him escape, he came out caught off guard and said he would steal his children - children who belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man who never hurt me (67). Huck's words prove that he views slaves only as property. When he thinks of Jim's family members, he does not associate them with his idea of ​​what a white family is; he sees them only as a legally divided group of “bought and paid for” kin. In addition to viewing slaves as property, Huck shows in a brief conversation with his Aunt Sally that he does not even view black people as real people. At the end of the novel, when Huck tells his aunt that her boat has run aground, she jumps aboard saying, "'Damn it!' Was anyone hurt? » Huck replies, “No. Killed a nigger,” to which Aunt Sally replies, “Well, that’s lucky; because sometimes people get hurt" (167). This exchange shows not only Huck's racism, but also that of the society he lives in. Huck's racism is not only apparent in his words, but also in his actions, which the reader sees in the form of tricks played on Jim Early in the novel, when Huck and Tom are sneaking around, Huck agrees to play a trick on Jim by hanging Jim's hat above him on a branch. tree. , he makes up all kinds of stories about the witches who carried him all over the country. Huck never says a word to Jim about what really happened. this farce is that it wasn't Huck's idea, nor was it Huck's idea involved in performing the trick. Huck blindly follows Tom and never utters a word of remorse to. About the joke When Huck is away from Tom, Huck reacts quite differently.about Huck cheating on Jim. when they are together on Jackson Island. When Jim gets bitten by a rattlesnake after Huck puts the snake's dead companion on Jim's bed, Huck feels quite guilty. He gently throws the two snakes away, saying, "I warn you, I won't let Jim find out it was my fault, not if I could help it." (40). In this case, Huck is alone, without Tom's influence, and therefore the result One reason for this circumstance is that Huck feels remorse for his actions. This scene allows the reader to get a glimpse of Huck's morality and good heart. The next trick Huck plays on Jim creates a lot of real fear and tension for Jim. It's just after Huck and Jim get lost in the fog and Huck finds and boards the raft while Jim sleeps. Jim is so relieved to find Huck safe and sound that he hugs him and holds him for a long time until Huck tells him that they were never separated. Jim believes him until he sees proof that they were, then he reprimands Huck:. . . My heart was broken the most because you lost... and you were all thinking about how you could make a fool of your old Jim with a lie. This truck is garbage; Waste is what people are, they dirty the heads of their brothers and shame them (65). This astonishing speech came from a slave, supposedly inferior to Huck. Nonetheless, Huck feels terrible and says, "It took me fifteen minutes before I could bring myself to go and humiliate myself in front of a nigger - but I did it, and I never complain about it by the way." the rest, neither” (65). This is the first time Huck apologizes or shows empathy towards Jim. In his previous turns, he either didn't care at all or just felt guilty, but here he shows that he is actually concerned about Jim's feelings. This progression in Huck shows that his morality develops alongside his friendship with Jim. As Huck and Jim's friendship develops, so does Huck's empathy for Jim. When Huck meets the two men on the river who ask him if Huck's friend is white or black, Huck silently struggles between following his conscience in reporting Jim or trusting his loyal heart. Huck knows what will happen to Jim if he reports him. With Jim's fate in his hands, Huck decides to "give up trying" (68), and so tells the men that his companion is white. This shows Huck's incredible loyalty and also his ability to put himself in Jim's shoes. What would Jim do if the situation improved? This question causes Huck to sympathize with Jim again. However, this is the first time Huck's empathy compels him to commit to keeping Jim safe, showing another step in his moral development. The moment in the novel when the reader no longer doubts Huck's morality comes at the climax. Huck has an extremely important decision to make: deliver Jim or save him from the Phelps. He stands there, holding the letter, faced with the decision of who to save. If he sends the letter to Miss Watson, he will be freed from "sin", while if he helps Jim escape, he will have to "be prepared to get down and lick the boots of (no matter what) who) out of shame” (160). Simultaneously, Huck sees Jim's punishment in his mind, he sees how happy Jim could be, and he recognizes his power to give Jim something Jim has desired all his life. Huck's empathy is so strong at this point that, combined with his loyalty and sincere heart, it leads him to tear up the letter with the stunning exclamation: "All right, then I'll go to hell" (162 ). The fact that Huck believes he is giving up his soul for Jim's freedom leaves no doubt in the reader's mind that Huck's morality has truly developed over the course of the novel.,.