The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain - 2670 Words

Jim is no doubt the most complex character of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. From the beginning of the novel to the end, readers go on a journey that exhibits Jim’s development as a character as he gradually goes from being a supporting character to becoming a full-fledged protagonist. Throughout the novel, his character slowly evolves into one of the most intricate characters of Huckleberry Finn. When he was first introduced, Jim was seen as a purely simple and gullible â€Å"background† character. Chapter by chapter, Jim’s simplicity and innocence slowly develops, showing his true nature. Being the only African American protagonist in the novel, Jim had a different sense of growth compared to other characters,†¦show more content†¦In the first act of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim is depicted as a background-type character; he seemed like a character that had no meaning in the story. He was first introduced as a slave, belonging to Huckleberry’s guardian, Miss Watson. Twain initially portrays Jim as a sort of â€Å"comic† character; he was first introduced as a fairly simple and gullible character. Twain begins his characterization of Jim by describing him to be very superstitious. After Huck and Tom’s prank of taking off Jim’s hat and hanging it on a branch while he was sleeping, â€Å"Jim said the witches bewitched and put him in a trance† (Twain 6). Twain creates a stereotype towards Jim and other slaves by characterizing them to be very superstitious characters. The concept of superstition is crucial in Jim’s character because, since he is a slave, Jim does not get good education, so supernatural ideas, such as the â€Å"witches,† are the only thing that he learns. Later in the novel, when Huck sees his father’s footprints in the snow, he gets confused, so he goes to Jim and asks him why pap is there. Jim proceeds to pull out a ha irball, something in which he uses as a sort of â€Å"psychic 8-ball,† that â€Å"he used to do magic with† (Twain 17). His prophecy to Huck was rather vague, telling him to let his father, â€Å"take his own way.† Jim is shown to be very gullible, believing that his â€Å"magic† hairball could predict why or what