Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Huck Finn :: essays research papers
You Canââ¬â¢t Pray A Lie is a pivotal excerpt taken from Mark Twainââ¬â¢s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Like Twainââ¬â¢s other works, this example of moral truth and consequence undermines the basic sense of human values. Set in the 1880ââ¬â¢s on a raft upon the Mississippi River, Huck is caught in a battle of personal conflicting views. It is through his interactions with Jim, a runaway black slave, that he faces the realization that being ultimately true to himself means that he cannot ââ¬Å"pray a lie.â⬠à à à à à Jim had run away from his abusive father and enabling small town to find himself traveling down the Mississippi on a raft. His traveling partner was a black slave, Jim. Wondering why Jim was there, Huck discovers that Jim had run away from his slave owner, Ms. Watson. Jim had spoken about his harsh life as a slave, and resented talk of being sold down to Orleans for a ââ¬Å"big stack oââ¬â¢ money.â⬠Huck felt that Jimââ¬â¢s escape was wrong, but kept his promise of secrecy, like any good friend would. à à à à à In lieu of his escape, Jim emphasized his feelings of becoming a free man. Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom (p. 238). Huck came to the realization that Jim was escaping for a far different reason than he, and began to see this ââ¬Å"niggerââ¬â¢sâ⬠freedom as his own fault; he was an accomplice. Huckââ¬â¢s conscience became plagued by the fact that Jim was escaping the custody of his rightful owner, and he was doing nothing to stop this. In Huckââ¬â¢s eyes, Jim was essentially the property of poor old Ms. Watson, who didnââ¬â¢t do anything less than teach Jim his manners and his books. Altogether, Huck felt that he was doing wrong by concealing this, and felt miserable to say the least. à à à à à Jimââ¬â¢s anticipation for freedom grew higher as he expressed his future dreams and aspirations. Jim began saying things that ââ¬Å"niggersâ⬠wouldnââ¬â¢t normally dare say. Jim was speaking like a white man, not like someoneââ¬â¢s property, a slave. This attitude began to lower Huckââ¬â¢s vision of Jim, and his conscience grew even hotter. Huck had never been exposed to a slave who spoke this way. It was his inadequate education that told him this was wrong. à à à à à Jim stopped the raft with intentions of surrendering Jim. At this point he heard Jim yell: ââ¬Å"Pooty soon Iââ¬â¢ll be a-shoutââ¬â¢n for joy, en Iââ¬â¢ll say, itââ¬â¢s on accounts oââ¬â¢Huck; Iââ¬â¢s a free man, en I couldnââ¬â¢t ever ben free ef it hadnââ¬â¢ been for Huck; Huck done it.
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