(np) HF, the payoff of not being completely d*ckish...

[alice wellintown]

On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 12:42 AM, Michael Bailey
<michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
> so near the beginning of HF, Huck and Tom are sneaking around at night
> and Huck trips over a root and Jim hears something.
>
> now, Jim's got to do his due diligence, so he makes a token "Who's there"
>
> it's got to be obvious to him that Huck and Tom are sneaking out
>
> Jim's a slave.  But he's cool.  So he figures, let the boys have some
> fun, I'll mess with them.
>
> He takes a chance, pretending to fall asleep, just to see what they will do.

He is asleep; he's not pretending. Why read Jim as a nobel savage when
Twain undermines the nobel savage reading? Jim risks his life to get
to freedom. We admire him for this. He teaches Huck very important
lessons. Again, we find him sympathetic. To help, perhaps save Tom
Sawyer, a character we can not sympathize withm Jim risks all he has
gained thus far in his adventure. Jim is elevated to a man who,
despite his ignorance, superstitious stupidities, faults and flaws,
still embodies some of the quakites America has forged in its heroes:
his moral code is above that of the social moral code. But to make of
Jim a nobel save is to misread Twain's contribution to American
Literature. Jim aint Uncle Tom and he sure ain't no Queequeg. He's not
native son and HF is no protest novel.