I could a staid, if I'd a wanted to, but I didn't want to...

So much has developed since the beginning of the book! Huck is slowly starting to mature, and this becomes more visible as he gets caught up in trouble. The increase of his conscience has certainly become apparent in his relationship with Jim and with the many people encountered on their journey.

When Huck encounters Buck, we see him, for the first time, take a liking to someone he and Jim stumble upon. Huck forms an attachment with Buck. He is also able to recognize the foolishness of the feud going on between the two families. This recognition shows the personal growth Huck is starting to develop. There is really no reason for this feud to continue; the families don’t even know what they are fighting about anymore. A recurring theme Twain uses is this idea of pride. Pride can get in the way of what is right and what is wrong; Huck is finally learning this.

Why is pride so powerful?!

The relationship between Jim and Huck is also becoming more complex. Huck doesn’t sell Jim out when he has the opportunity. Even though Huck struggles with whether this decision was right or wrong, he has learned something important in this situation. He has learned his true feeling for Jim. Jim is now much more than a slave; he is a friend, a companion.

Huck makes another great decision that goes against what he has done previously. He made an attempt to give the money stolen back to the rightful owners (Mary Jane). When this doesn’t go as planned, Huck does the honorable thing. He tells the truth. This was a big step for Huck to take, and it showed his true character. Huck has now proven that his conscience exists and he knows right from wrong. By trying to make things right, he also proves that he is capable of forming honest relationships. He feels a commitment to Mary Jane and her family.

This commitment carries over into Huck’s relationship with Jim. When he witnesses the crying of Jim, Huck realizes that Jim is a person. Until this point, Huck didn’t think of Jim as someone with the same feelings and thoughts as himself. Huck has opened his eyes to a new, more realistic, view of Jim and other slaves. This is another point where his personal growth is very apparent.

“He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so.”