Huck and Jim Had a Dream

Through a convoluted series of thoughts this morning, I got to thinking about Huckleberry Finn.  That led me to think about my relationship with his story and the banning of the book now and then throughout the course of its history.

First off, let me say that, if you've not read Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, you should.  Ernest Hemingway famously said that it was the "one book" from which "all modern American literature" came.

Not only is it great literature, it's an essential tale of Americana that should not be overlooked.  Critics complain about the offensive language, and, it's true, the language can be offensive.  They also claim that it puts slavery and discrimination up front and center.  That's true, too.  It does.

Mark Twain

What critics fail to see, however, is that Huck's tale is a story that condemns not only slavery, but discrimination.  As a lad, reading it for the first time, I came away sickened by the inequality experienced by the African slaves portrayed in the book.  Jim, the slave running away from owners in order to be with his family, is a favorite character of mine.  I love his essential goodness. 

Of course, I also love Huck.  As a boy, I could easily identify with certain aspects of him.

Huck was raised by an abusive, alcoholic father on the outskirts of town.  Ostracized by society and imprisoned by his father, he was miserably poor and essentially alone.  In desperation, Huck fakes his own death, escapes the clutches of his father, and begins life anew.  Early in his journey, Huck meets up with Jim, a runaway slave.

As we look back on this tale from the year 2017, it seems incomprehensible that a boy would be conflicted with his conscious about interacting with a runaway slave.  The morality of it all is obvious to us today.  But, to Huck, it wasn't all that clear.  He was young.  He was uneducated.  He was indoctrinated.

As the two of them float down the mighty Mississippi River, however, Huck begins to realize that all he's ever been taught about blacks is wrong. 

Jim is a person, just like him. 

Jim has feelings and he has love for his family, just like whites.

And Jim was held captive, just like him.

Huck wasn't educated, but he was perceptive.

Despite his change of heart about Jim the person, he remains uncertain about his moral position regarding Jim the slave.  There are legal considerations.  There's also the indoctrinated part of him that believes that following the law is the "right" thing.  Also present is his innate moral compass.  It knows that humans are more important than laws.  So, should he turn Jim in to the authorities and obey the law, or should he give more credence to the moral compass?

That is Huck's dilemma.

In the end, Huck decides to leave the law and the indoctrination, and, instead, allow his moral compass to point him.

Huck believes that this decision will condemn him to hell, but, he says, "All right, then, I'll go to hell!"

There's just something in his little heart that knows that freedom is more important than any sacrifice he might make.

This essential struggle for freedom defines America.  Huck, in his own way, was a freedom warrior because he was willing to risk not only death but hell for its sake.

I continue to be baffled by the periodic calls to ban Huckleberry Finn from our schools.  It seems to me that the proponents of banning have never actually read the story.  They don't understand the amazing moral transformation that took place in Huck, and, by extension, in America itself.

They can't see past the words that offend on the surface to the story underneath.  It is a story that soothes and instructs our souls.

Because of young Huck, I've dreamt of traveling the river since I was a child.  The dreams of a river adventure is a contribution to my life for which I'll always be grateful. 

Better still, it's a rollicking river tale wrapped around a morality play that has had a deep impact upon my life.  I guess Huckleberry Finn is the ultimate two-fer.

We are all the same in God's eyes.  Skin color is just color.  Our heart, our core, the parts that matter, are on par.

Slavery is abhorrent.  Discrimination is sickening.

Who amongst us is willing to pay with not only our present life, but our eternal life, to defend freedom?

Huck was.  That's why he's an American hero.

Rather than banning the story of Huck Finn, I am persuaded that we should celebrate it.

I guess that Huck and Jim had a dream, too.

Roll on Mississippi,

TheCurmudgeon