Social Context

This week for literature, I have to write about the social context of Huckleberry Finn. I will be talking about the seperation and bringing together of people.

The story takes place around the abolitionist movement. As we all know there was much seperation around that time over the matter of skin color. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck has grown up with slavery so he doesn't really see what's wrong with it. But as he gets know Jim, he sees that skin color does not make someone different. When they run away on the raft, they are forced to spend all of their time together. Huck learns a valuable lesson that not many people in that day and time cared about. He learns that just because someone looks diferent, that does not make them lower than you. When Huck was struggling with the idea of turning Jim in, he realized that he would just be turning in a friend. Would he turn Tom Sawyer in if he ran away? No. So neither would he turn in Jim. It shows that even back then, people could put aside their differences and come together.

"The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. I can say it ain't so, but darlin, what's the use? The darker the chocolate, the richer the taste. And that's where it's at. So run and tell that."
~Run and Tell That
Seaweed
Hairspray

Run aways

Today I will be doing another post for my literature class in coop. We are reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. And I'd like to compare Jim's escape to "freedom" to Huck's escape to "freedom".
    First off, we'll start with Huck. Huck was being held by his drunk dad, who was practically imprisoning him. He would not let Huck out of the house unless he needed Huck to do something for him. But he would never let Huck out of the woods that they were secluded in.
    Jim on the other hand, was actually a slave, but his mistress, Miss Watson, gave him a lot of freedom. He was able to have his own money and invest it in whatever he wanted. He was even aloud to go places sometimes.
    So, I would like to venture that Jim was actually more free than Huck. It took more effort for Huck to escape, and even then, he had to make people think that he had died. Jim, he just walked away.
    But, in my opinion, even though they seem to be free from their past ailments, they are not all together free. They still have to hide way on an island for fear of getting caught. They are not aloud to show their faces to anyone who might recognize them. Their lives are really quite restricted. Maybe even more so than before they escaped. At least for Jim.
    Their escapes really showed some of their personality too. Huck, underneath all of his superstitions, is actually a really smart kid. He made people think that he was killed by robbers, when really he had just left. Jim is smart, but I don't think quite as witty as Huck. His superstitions get the best of him, and that's all he really knows and believes. Jim, just saw a chance to leave, and did. He knew everyone would know he ran away, but that was okay with him.
   So, I would like to conclude that Huck's escape showed that even though he wasn't actually a slave, he was enduring more slavery than Jim. He had to really work just to, well, leave.

"Can you hear this soul? It's crying. My soul is crying, calling out to you.Will you come and wash over me like only you can do. Will you be...my freedom? Will you be...my freedom?"
~My Freedom
Krystal Meyers
Make Some Noise