What is like to have a regret? I mean, how could you deal with the remorse of something that is gone, done, not possible anymore?
So here is the big deal: how could Huck turn Jim in and still the good kid, the smart and brave main character that we all like? In fact, even if Jim is just a slave, or worse, he is a fugitive who's (unjustly) blamed of murder, he is also a friend of Huck, and shares his secrets and his fears. Jim becomes more than a friend but the paternal figure which is missing in Huck's youth. A slave, rejected by the society and dehumanized as a beast becomes the kindest to a white kid which refuses to submit its life to his father's will (and to the society's typesetting, so he gets rid of his money, abandon the town and its people and hides on an uninhabited island). How could Huck sell this kind of relationship just because of a moural boundary (which belongs to the society that he regrets) when he has just showed what his heart is able to feel, trying to save the band of mourders on the boat?
I guess this is the reason why the author got stucked for a while in writing this book.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cecelia. I like your observation that Jim is not just a growing friend, but a father figure for Huck as well. Keep this in mind as we read further into the book (and begin to decide whether or not it is suitable for the classroom. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the reading we completed over the break!
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