Jim: Twain's authentic hero. A study of the characteristics of Jim's heroism in Mark Twain's novel 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'.

摘要

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain questions the relationship between one's bravery and the attention an audience gives to acts of courage. He determines that the audience's perception and ideology are crucial if one is to be appreciated as a hero. Twain's inquiry, therefore, generates an interest into the relationship between the audience and the intended hero of his narrative. Through the study of literary critiques, Twain's autobiography and historical events of the nineteenth century, this analysis will demonstrate three points: That the controversial figure, Jim, rather than Huckleberry Finn, is the intended hero of Twain's tale; that Huck's role is one of a spectator and reporter, who reveals the slave's heroic qualities; and lastly, that although Twain knew the majority of his audience would reject Jim, a black man, as his intended hero, the author, nevertheless, artistically endeavored to make the slave a hero one should admire.