The Moral Trials Of Huckleberry Finn
Throughout the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the use of empathy as a theme is evident. Huck’s character develops sympathy and remorse as the story continues. It is seen when Jim, the runaway slave that Huck has been traveling with, is sold back into slavery, and Huck must decide whether or not to save him. Another example of this is shown when Huck must decide whether to help the Wilks sisters, who are being conned out of their money. These incidents can be connected to the recent Black Lives Matter movement that has taken ahold of our country. When someone uses empathy when making decisions in real life, it will benefit that person and others around them.
During the era in which this book takes place, especially in the southern United States, African American men and women were slaves and treated as inferior to the white man. Huck has been brought up in this climate and doesn’t think anything of it until he starts to get to know Jim, a black man attempting to reach the free states. Jim opens up about his life and family, and Huck realizes that this man is just as real and valid as him, beginning to understand that Jim has emotions like anybody else. Huck feels less and less guilty about bringing him along as the book goes on. At the end, Jim is betrayed and ends up back in slavery, but Huck knows he must help break Jim out and reach freedom, so Jim can live a life he deserves. Huck, still believing this is wrong because of the way society was, but feeling empathetic and having learned more about Jim, exclaims that he’ll “go to hell,” but will let those words “stay said. . . and [Huck] never thought no more about reforming” (Twain 273). He made his decision using empathy, which ended up helping Jim reach his well-deserved freedom.
This use of empathy can be seen through the many protests by the Black Lives Matter movement. One recent protest was seen in Chicago, Illinois, after white police officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shot black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. McDonald had been reported as breaking into cars, and as soon as Van Dyke arrived to the scene and stepped out of his car, he shot McDonald 16 times. On October 5, 2018, Van Dyke was “found guilty. . . of second-degree murder” (Sanchez cnn. com), which led to protests that he was not given a long enough sentence. These people that protested when he killed McDonald, and are protesting now, are sympathetic towards their fellow civilians, who they believe are not being treated equally, despite not necessarily having endured the same discrimination. Just like Huck felt empathy towards Jim being a slave and wanting to help him, these protesters feel empathy for McDonald and his family, and are choosing to let their voices be heard. They want equality for African Americans in the eyes of the police, and are choosing empathy to help make that happen.
As Huck continues his adventure in the novel, he comes across con men known as the King and Duke. They hear about the recent passing of Peter Wilks and attempt to impersonate his brothers, trying to strip the money given to the brothers in the will. Huck goes along with it, but begins to realize it is wrong to poach from the sisters now in charge of the estate and will. He feels “so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind’s made up; I’ll hive that money for them or bust” (Twain 224), because he knows that helping the con men is not right. Through sympathy and the morals he is beginning to understand, Huck decides to explain everything that has happened to the girls and tell them where the money is hidden. This, in turn, affects the girls positively, as well as the real Wilks brothers who arrive later.
Within the Black Lives Matter movement, there have been many donations given to the families affected, as well as the movement itself. A particular example of this is with Mike Evans, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, who donated a large sum of money to a family whose husband/father had been shot and had only received four dollars in the lawsuit they filed. He “contributed $11,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for the family, bringing the total raised to more than $99,000 of a $150,000 goal” (Brito cbsnews. com). Evans did not have to do this act of kindness, but felt empathy towards the family. He knew that what had happened was not fair, and he had to do something to help. He made a decision that positively affected them, while also showing that he supported the Black Lives Matter movement. This is similar to the book where Huck gives the money back to the Wilks sisters. He wants to show that he will not stand for the foolishness of the con men, and he proves that he is understanding and remorseful towards their situation.
The use of empathy when making decisions is shown as a clear theme throughout the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck grows as a character and begins to realize that he should consider others when making a choice that could impact more than himself. He is shown doing this when attempting to save Jim from slavery and when stealing the money back for the Wilks sisters. Empathy and the need for change is what started the Black Lives Matter movement and what will continue to drive it forward. Empathy is a leading force in our lives and should not be ignored with decisions big or small.
