Huckleberry Finn: Why Jim Is Mark Twain's Most Meaningful Character

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is widely considered the first "Great American Novel," and yet, since its first publication in 1885, the book has been a subject of intense controversy. In this video essay, I explore how close and thoughtful reading of Huck Finn, especially the character of Jim, shows us that Twain intended for his novel to help us become better people.
0:00 Introduction
1:29 Trashy and Vicious
3:55 Twain, Dialect, and the N Word
4:47 Jim's Masks
7:10 The Fog Episode
9:22 Jim's Fatherly Instincts
11:02 A Regressive Ending?
13:38 Social Invisibility and Injustice
14:28 Twain's Legacy
15:43 Conclusion
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Film Credits:
The Peanut Butter Falcon. Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, performanc by Shia LaBeouf, Armory Films, 2019.
Newsy. “In The Loop: Gen Z’s Protest Power, Defunding The Police & Deforestation” Online video clip. Newsy. E.W. Scripps, 8 Jun 2020.
Sources:
Bollinger, Laurel. "Say It, Jim: The Morality of Connection in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." College Literature 29.1 (2002): 32-5
Eutsey, Dwayne. "An Unlikely Patron of Civil Rights Jurisprudence." Center for Mark Twain Studies, 12 Feb. 2018.
Fishkin, Shelley Fisher. Was Huck Black?: Mark Twain and African American Voices. New York, Oxford University Press, 1993.
Haven, Cynthia. "'A chill went through me': How a Twain scholar discovered a long-lost letter on racism." The Book Haven, Stanford University, 27 Jan.
Smith, Cassander L. "'Nigger' or 'Slave': Why Labels Matter for Jim (and Twain) in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Papers on Language & Literature, vol. 50, no. 2, Spring 2014, pp. 182-206.
"Teaching the Negro." The New York Times [New York City], 19 Mar. 1885, p. 4.
"Trashy and Vicious." The New York Times [New York City], 19 Mar. 1885, p. 4.
Twain, Mark, and Thomas Cooley. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: An Authoritative Text, Contexts and Sources, Criticism. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.
#HuckleberryFinn #MarkTwain #PeanutButterFalcon

Пікірлер: 38

  • @curiousworld7912
    @curiousworld79123 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this, as I've long thought of 'Huckleberry Finn' as the greatest American novel. Clemens was both a man of his times and a great critic of it. Like all of us, he was a 'mixed-bag', but his insights into human behavior have rarely been equaled - especially as pertains to this amazing book.

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the kind words. I agree, it's important to recognize the humanity in people like Twain (and the characters he created). And that means acknowledging both the flaws and the uncommon courage.

  • @Ahsoka_Hyrule
    @Ahsoka_Hyrule2 жыл бұрын

    If this isn't an underrated video essay I don't know what is. Excellent job!

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your kind comment! Making this video was a profound learning experience for me, so it brings no small measure of joy when other people get something meaningful out of it.

  • @bobbluered8984
    @bobbluered89843 жыл бұрын

    There never was before and has never been since a great American novelist quite like the man who called himself “Mark Twain”.

  • @mortsey
    @mortsey3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks! I enjoyed the analysis of this great book. I am a big fan of Mark Twain and can hardly get enough of his writing and style.

  • @reenchanted
    @reenchanted3 жыл бұрын

    That quote by Twain caught me off guard. Still affecting today and still a struggle for our nation. :’-(

  • @Red_Dead_Director

    @Red_Dead_Director

    2 ай бұрын

    The biggest problem our nation(s) face today: Twain Drain

  • @MultiPenguin123
    @MultiPenguin1233 жыл бұрын

    Hey, I just watched your video on 'The Great Gatsby'. I loved how you relate the themes and characters presented in the novel to real life lessons. I would absolutely love to hear you give your thoughts on 'Of Mice & Men' along with 'Great Expectations'

  • @arelis4553
    @arelis45533 жыл бұрын

    Why oh why did it take me this long to discover this channel?!!! Well, better late than never. I truly enjoy the content!!! 😊

  • @stuffandthat157
    @stuffandthat1573 жыл бұрын

    Smashed it out the park again. It maddens me that your channel isn't bigger when you compare it to some of the other media analysis channels out there

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the support! At the end of the day, I'm just glad that there are folks who get something good out of my videos.

  • @processinginformation

    @processinginformation

    3 жыл бұрын

    ​@@ThoughtWord your vids are en par with some of the best on youtube. must be a YT algorythm slip up, bc there should be 2 more 0´s behind that 8k. whatever it is, thx for these essays :)

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@processinginformation Thanks for the support! KZread probably just doesn't like the fact that I've got a full-time job, which limits me to making a video once every 2-3 months instead of every other week. It is what it is!

  • @garyroseborough2000
    @garyroseborough20003 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the lesson!

  • @Bibbo8844hdbks
    @Bibbo8844hdbks3 жыл бұрын

    These are good man.

  • @jazzy_macaron9502
    @jazzy_macaron9502 Жыл бұрын

    I absolutely loved all you had to say. I remember getting so much value out of reading Huck Finn for the 1st time back in high school. I've reread it again recently via audiobook and was able to get more insight through doing so. I saw this video before hand and I just watched it again and I absolutely adore how you articulated your thoughts here. I would have loved to listen to the audiobook you used here as I couldn't find it on KZread. Please let me know what audiobook you listened to or if you bought it online. I would love to revisit parts of the book with this audio in it. Fantastic job & I can't wait to see more from you 😁❤

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It's probably the most research intensive and carefully written essays I've made, so the positive feedback means a lot! As for the audiobook, I used the one narrated by Elijah Wood, however, I did modulate the pitch of his voice lower for the sequences of Jim's dialogue. So, in a sense, I created my own ideal reading of Huck Finn!

  • @jazzy_macaron9502

    @jazzy_macaron9502

    Жыл бұрын

    @@ThoughtWord wooaaahh that is amazing! You definitely got me there hahah that's incredibly creative! Definitely felt more how I'd like to imagine Jim sounded like. Great job!

  • @jackhowie7031
    @jackhowie70319 ай бұрын

    I am not American, but reading this book in school opened my eyes to the horrific treatment of fellow human being. I understand that people back then we thought false narratives to justify this, but on the humanity level it still doesn't make sense...people treat their dogs better than they did with their slaves.

  • @jasonwoods7915
    @jasonwoods79152 жыл бұрын

    I agree Twain was Jim. Him being black was a metaphor that he was once called black, as if he had no colors of the rainbow, only to over come by isaiah 53 with being dumb, and having grown feet he had not known he had. For those baptized, experiencing the first death, it is a book that give a vicarious experience with the author. Know we have to die, sent to hell as huck put it, then risen by Christ power to new life. Slave is not the proper substitution, maybe black would be a better word.

  • @BradleeWSkinner
    @BradleeWSkinner3 жыл бұрын

    Where is the video about Peanut Butter Falcon which was teased in this video? I can't wait to see more.

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    3 жыл бұрын

    I definitely still want to make that video. Unfortunately, all the news that broke about Shia LaBeouf awhile back *ah hem* wrecked my original thesis quite a bit.

  • @JonathanRobleroV
    @JonathanRobleroV Жыл бұрын

    Could I cite you for an essay I'm doing about Huck Finn

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    Жыл бұрын

    Certainly. It's kind of you to consider my video in that way.

  • @JA-tu6yj
    @JA-tu6yj3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you I love tom and huck I don't see most of this in KZread

  • @BlindBison
    @BlindBison3 жыл бұрын

    Bump

  • @Red_Dead_Director
    @Red_Dead_Director2 ай бұрын

    Its written with a word today we don't say - but if you really watch movies and understand them - they are telling the same story but it's on film and they don't have to say the words - look at cold mountain for example - this has nothing to do with race - it's the idea of words are translated in films by just playing out what happens - the same people who want to ban this book (go back as far as field of dream in terms of cinema- and look at the author that plays a big role in it) these people today want this to be banned because its reinventing history to meet corporate commercial culture - a culture of fake squeaky clean stuff I despise - I'm so sick of censorship - both sides of the isle do it - but .. I understand the differences and - i feel almost like I have to say that - my channel revolves around a game where they inaccurately portray history - and in efforts to not come off as racially motivated I have to spend 80% of my time making sure I don't blast someone who isn't the right appearance - in the game its worse - you get penalized based on things like what people look like - which is .. racist .. we live in a dumbed down world where we surrender intellectual interpretation of past events and discussions to corporations made up of people who probably offend worse than any other - but make sure they proclaim they are virtuous so they can squeeze the little companies and suck the money out of our pockets using moral virtue. It's refreshing to hear some substantive discussion on such a unnecessarily sensitive and censored or fictionally re-created subject. Look what google tried to do with the launch of their AI tool .. This video is probably more relevant than ever - and it makes me so angry to be someone totally void of prejudice and so focused on substance to HAVE to support and work for companies that want it the dumb way- so they can make more $$ - and many distorting the focus of what we should be collectively discussing for the political (no sides here) utility of stoking and fueling the idea and existence of racism - It's so sad we can't tell a story from the time it happened in - nobody had a problem with HBO/CBC's early 2000s ROME, but we demand that more recent history conform to today's standards - I leave you with this one last though --- why is HBO's Deadwood regarded as one of the greatest series ever released - and how much different (if it all) is it from Twain's writings?

  • @Airjabz
    @Airjabz3 жыл бұрын

    I would just like to say that because there was no dislikes I felt the obligation to dislike the video. I liked the video but I had to ruin the perfect record because I am that guy. (EDIT:) REASON: Who tf gave this kid the N pass?

  • @ThoughtWord

    @ThoughtWord

    3 жыл бұрын

    For what it's worth, as a white dude, I definitely didn't take the use of the N-word lightly (I hope the thesis and content of the video sufficiently attests to that mindset). But, when writing an essay about Huckleberry Finn-and especially Jim-it's almost impossible to get around it. So, I was really purposeful in writing the word only when directly quoting the novel or Cassander Smith's journal article.

  • @rpinho78

    @rpinho78

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ThoughtWord This is in no way a troll or negative comment, but I'd tread lightly on handwaving your use of the N-Word as an impossibility. You might be able to sneak it under the radar for now, but when you get more viewers on this, you're going to probably regret using it.

  • @andrefilipe9042

    @andrefilipe9042

    5 ай бұрын

    ​@@rpinho78As someone whose parents came from Africa, it seriously offends me that a professional essay can't cite an important word because someone thinks blacks need to be coddle like children.

  • @heraalltheway

    @heraalltheway

    28 күн бұрын

    @@ThoughtWordthere is no need for you to use it. EVEN for a video

  • @heraalltheway
    @heraalltheway28 күн бұрын

    i dont think Jim developed as a character. especially when we think of the ending…