Friendship
We get many opportunities to consider the meaning of friendship throughout Huckleberry
Finn. Tom and Huck are friends and even sign a blood oath (see chapter 2) to be loyal to
their gang. But it is his friendship with Jim that is most important to Huck’s
development. He clearly comes to love Jim. When he finds Jim again after the
Shepherdson-Grangerford episode, he is overjoyed (see chapter 18). He would rather be
condemned to hell than betray Jim. That, Twain implies, is a real friendship. At first,
however, Huck is simply glad to have company, and he even treats Jim disrespectfully.
In a key scene in chapter 15, Huck comes to appreciate his relationship with the fugitive
slave. After they get separated in the fog, Huck decides to try to fool Jim into thinking he
dreamed the whole separation. Huck imagines Jim to be gullible and foolish. He may
pretend to be at times, but he knows well that Huck is simply trying to make a fool of
him. He “interprets” different parts of dreams for Huck, trying to teach him a lesson, but
Huck still does not understand that Jim is wise to him. Huck, trying to continue the joke,
points to some leaves and garbage on the raft and asks Jim, “What does these things stand
for?” Jim replies “What do dey stan’ for? I’s gwyne to tell you…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”
(see chapter 15). Huck humbles himself and apologizes to Jim.