Huck Finn :: essays research papers

You Cant Pray A Lie is a pivotal excerpt taken from Mark Twains unmixed The Adventures of huckabackleberry Finn. Like Twains other works, this example of moral righteousness and consequence undermines the basic sense of human values. Set in the 1880s on a raft upon the Mississippi River, huck is caught in a battle of personal conflicting views. It is through his interactions with Jim, a runaway melanize slave, that he faces the realization that being ultimately true to himself means that he cannot pray a lie.Jim had run away from his abusive father and enable small town to find himself traveling hatful the Mississippi on a raft. His traveling partner was a black slave, Jim. Wondering why Jim was there, Huck discovers that Jim had run away from his slave owner, Ms. Watson. Jim had spoken about his uncut life as a slave, and resented talk of being sold down to Orleans for a big stack o money. Huck felt that Jims escape was wrong, but kept his promise of secrecy, like all good friend would.In lieu of his escape, Jim emphasized his feelings of becoming a free man. Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom (p. 238). Huck came to the realization that Jim was escaping for a distant different reason than he, and began to see this niggers freedom as his own fault he was an accomplice. Hucks conscience became plagued by the fact that Jim was escaping the custody of his rightful owner, and he was doing nothing to stop this. In Hucks eyes, Jim was essentially the property of poor old Ms. Watson, who didnt do anything less than teach Jim his manners and his books. Altogether, Huck felt that he was doing wrong by concealing this, and felt miserable to say the least.Jims anticipation for freedom grew higher as he expressed his succeeding(a) dreams and aspirations. Jim began saying things that niggers wouldnt normally dare say. Jim was speaking like a white man, not like someones property, a slave. This situation began to lower H ucks vision of Jim, and his conscience grew even hotter. Huck had never been exposed to a slave who spoke this way. It was his inadequate schooling that told him this was wrong. Jim stopped the raft with intentions of surrendering Jim. At this point he heard Jim phone Pooty soon Ill be a-shoutn for joy, en Ill say, its on accounts oHuck Is a free man, en I couldnt ever ben free ef it hadn been for Huck Huck done it.