Abstract

Mark Twain is a great humorist, the true father of American national literature. Since his masterpiece Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published, it has gotten unanimously attraction from scholars to readers, as well as the views on every possible aspect of this work; they have pondered the overall theme, the symbolism, the plots, the language, and individual characters. And most of those are on the view of the main character—the boy Huck. Different from the traditional view, this paper will provide an understanding based on a racial topic by illustrating Jim’s image from his servility to revolt, which will attempt to enrich the social significance of the right attitude towards the colored from Jim’s different personalities cultivated by the surroundings.

Keywords：Jim； servility； revolt； freedom； racism

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 Research Situation-3

2. Jim's Servility-6

2.1 Jim's Loyalty and Submission-6

2.1.1 Miss Watson's Jim-6

2.1.2 Jim in the Schemes-7

2.2 The Faintness of Desire for Freedom-8

2.2.1 Jim's Desire for Fortune and Status-8

2.2.2 Jim's Vanity-9

3. Jim's Revolt-10

3.1 The Extraordinary Runaway Slave-10

3.1.1 Jim's Prudence and Philosophy-10

3.1.2 Jim's Humanity-11

3.2 The Visions of Freedom-13

3.2.1 The Tiny Utopia on the Raft-13

3.2.2 The Climax of Jim's Revolt-14

4. A Hero of Himself-15

4.1 The Internal Causes -15

4.1.1 Jim's Ignorance-15

4.1.2 Jim's Pessimism-16

4.2 The External Causes-17

4.2.1 America's Slavery System-17

4.2.2 America's Capitalism-17

5. Conclusion-18

References-19