Huck Finn's Maturation Process
... trash, the exact turning point of Huck’s morality; he even had the decency to apologize, showing acceptance to a black man. As I quote from pages 83-84 "What do dey stan' for? I'se gwyne to tell you. When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no' mo' what become er me en de raf'. En when I wake up en fine you back agin, all safe en soun', de tears come, en I could a got down on my knees en kiss yo' foot, I's so thankful. En all you wuz thinkin' 'bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is TRASH; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren's en makes 'em ashamed." Then he got up slow and walked to the wigwam, and went in there without saying anything but that. But that was enough. It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed HIS foot to get him to take it back. It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way.” As a reader, you can noticeably see the number of lies Huck tells, even conning a few people. However, you can understand the importance of his white lies that led to the protection of Jim against slave-hunters by telling them his “father was ill with the smallpox.” Huck is also burdened with the fact that Jim considers him his best and only friend in the whole wide world, making him consciensously aware that he must now keep Jim protected under whatever circumstance. Pages 87-88 quotes Huck’s attempt at keeping the slave-hunters away from the raft. “…"Only one, sir." "Well, there's five niggers run off to-night up , above the head of the bend. Is your man white or black?" … "He's white." "I reckon we'll go and see for ourselves." "I wish you would," says I, "because it's pap that's there, and maybe you'd help me tow the raft ashore where the light is. He's sick—and so is mam and Mary Ann." … "Set her back, John, set her back!" says one. They backed water. "Keep away, boy—keep to looard. Confound it, I just expect the wind has blowed it to us. Your pap's got the small-pox, and you know it precious well. Why didn't you come out and say so? Do you want to spread it all over?" Not only does he realize Jim is a human, but he also learns that telling a lie can actually do good deeds, depending on the purpose. Much of the novel consists of Huck lying to folks because conscientiously, he feels the need to help those in turmoil such as the robbers on the sinking boat, the daughters of dead Peter Wilks, and such. This insight is part of Huck’s learning process as he finds that some of the things the he has been taught contradict what seems to be “right.” The last and final straw that revealed Huck’s maturation was when he was contemplating whether or not he should write to Ms. Watson to notify that Jim was enslaved at the Phelps’. Page 206 “It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: "All right, then, I'll GO to hell"—and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't. And for a starter I would go to ...