Chapter 16: "A Rebellious Boy Has His First Encounter With His Conscience"

Contributor: Lauren Hrncirik

A Summary of Events

Huck and Jim keep alert for sight of Cairo (their destination).  Jim gets excited and talks excessively about his freedom that he will soon have. \ Huck questions whether he should do the “right” thing and turn Jim, a ‘rightful’ possession of Miss Watson, in. Jim tells Huck about his plans to buy or steal his family back once he has his freedom.  Huck paddles towards land to find out if they have reached Cairo.  Jim yells after Huck, telling him he’s the best friend that he has ever had. Huck comes across two men looking for runaway negros, and they ask if he has any on his raft.  Huck automatically lies to them and makes up a story about his pap being really sick and needing some help. The men get scared, thinking that the old man has smallpox. They give Huck 40 dollars, some advice, and then paddle off. Huck decides there is no used to do what’s “right” and turn Jim in, when he will end up feeling worse than if he were to keep doing what was “wrong.”  Later Huck asks a man with a skiff if the town is Cairo yet, and he is rudely informed that he town isn’t Cairo. Huck and Jim later realize that they have passed Cairo.  The canoe is lost.  A steamboat crashes into Huck, Jim and their raft.  The raft is ruined and the two are separated in the water.  Huck swims to land, comes upon a house, and freezes when a group of mean, barking dogs run towards him.

Characters Involved

Huck: narrator  Jim: Miss Watson’s runaway slave  Two men looking for runaway negros A rude man with a skiff

Two Discussion Questions

Huck views Jim differently than he has before. What is his newly found attitude towards slave owners, especially Miss Watson and the man who owns Jim’s family? What factors could have triggered such a change in attitude? What morally challenging problem has Huck abruptly faced himself with? How does he resolve his problem in his own mind? Is it possible that Huck isn’t being completely honest when he says he just “wants to do what comes handiest?”

Two Important Passages

“It most froze me to hear such talk. He wouldn’t ever dared to talk such talk in his life before. Just see what a difference it made in him the minute he judged he was about free. It was according to the old saying, “give a negro an inch and he’ll take an ell.”  -Huck is appalled by a slave talking about his own freedom in such an open way. This is the first time on the their trip that Huck has begun to question Jim’s rights and limits just because he is a slave and someone’s property.

“I see it warn’t no use for me to try to learn to do right, a body that don’t get started right when he’s little, ain’t got no show-…-s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad…” -Just as Huck seems to be taking a step backwards in his moral development, he surprises the reader with his strange logic and deciding not to turn Jim in. He attempts to make an ‘excuse’ for why he doesn’t turn Jim in (he will naturally just do what is handiest). But, it is apparent that no matter what, he cares for Jim, as a person, and as his friend. And perhaps deep down Huck feels he could never turn Jim in, even if it were the easiest option.

Controversial Elements

Huck is supposed to be Jim’s good friend. Jim trusts him with everything, and he takes care of and protects Huck in a way that a father would to his child. Yet, Huck still continues to show that he views him as property, just like every other white man. Then he plots to turn his friend in. Even though Huck decides to not turn in Jim, the message sent is that the bonds of friendship cannot withstand the pressures of society.