The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain Mrs. Coronel English I

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim

Summary

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Huck, still going by the name of Tom, Aunt Sally, and Uncle Silas wait for information on Tom, going by the name of Sid. Tom is brought back to the house. He is recovering from his bullet wound. Jim is recaptured and chained to the cabin floor and threatened with a lynching. The Doctor defends Jim and tells the men to treat him kindly.

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Tom finally awakens and, thinking that Jim escaped successfully, reveals the entire plan to Aunt Sally and a scared Huck Finn. Tom finds out that the escape plan didn’t work. Tom is angry and tells everyone that Miss Watson died and set Jim free in her will. Jim is a free man. Aunt Polly shows up, reveals the boys’ true identities, and confirms Tom’s story about Jim.

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Chapter Questions

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 1) When Tom finally comes home who accompanies him?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim As Huck (fake Tom), Aunt Sally, and Uncle Silas are nervously waiting at the kitchen table for Sid (real Tom) they see that Sid (real Tom) is being carried to the house on an old mattress by the doctor and a tied-up Jim. “It was Tom Sawyer being carried on a mattress, the old doctor, and Jim—still wearing the calico dress—with his hands tied behind his back.”

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 2) How do the men treat Jim as a runaway slave?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Once Jim returned, the men of the farm beat him, chain him, threatened to starve and sell him, and placed armed guards and a watch dog so that he would not escape again. Jim faithfully never revealed that he knew Huck (fake Tom). “They cussed Jim considerable, though, and give him a cuff or two side the head, […] and chained him again, […] and said he warn’t to have nothing but bread and water to eat after this till his owner come, or he was sold […].

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 3) What do the men threaten to do to Jim to teach the other slaves a lesson?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim The men of the farm contemplated hanging Jim and using his example to warn other slaves against running away and causing trouble. “The men was very huffy, and some of them wanted to hang Jim for an example to all the other niggers around there […].”

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 4) Why don’t they do what they feel like doing to Jim?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Because slaves were viewed as property, some argued that if Jim was killed (equivalent to destroyed property), they would be required to pay his value back. The following quote summarizes their attitudes: “[P]eople that’s always the most anxious for to hang a nigger that hain’t done just right is always the very ones that ain’t the most anxious to pay for him when they’ve got their satisfaction out of him.” “But the others said, don’t do it […]; he ain’t our nigger, and his owner would turn up and make us pay for him, sure.”

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 5) How does the doctor help Jim?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim The Doctor praises Jim. He says that, even at the risk of his own life and freedom, Jim stayed with them and helped nurse Sid (real Tom) back to health. “I never see a nigger that was a better nuss or faithfuller, and yet he was risking his freedom to do it, and was all tired out, too, and I see plain enough he’d been worked main hard lately. I liked the nigger for that; I tell you, gentlemen, a nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars—and kind treatment, too.

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim 6) When Tom wakes up what does he reveal to Aunt Sally?

Chapter 42: Why They Didn't Hang Jim Sid (real Tom) explains EVERYTHING! Meanwhile, Huck (fake Tom) sit quietly. (I will verbally explain.) “NO, I ain’t out of my HEAD; I know all what I’m talking about. We DID set him free—me and Tom. We laid out to do it, and we DONE it. And we done it elegant, too.”

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write

Summary

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Huck finally has time alone to talk to Tom. Tom says that he planned to extend their adventure all the way north and the return with a triumphant, free Jim back home. Jim is finally set free and treated kindly by the Phelps family He rejoices with Huck about “being a rich man again.”

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Tom proposes a new adventure out in Indian Territory. When Huck says that he has no money for adventures, Jim reveals Pap’s fate: he was the dead man in the floating house. “If I had known how much trouble it would be to write a book, then I wouldn’t have ever started writing it in the first place. And I’m not going to write anymore.” Huck decides to go west to escape more attempts to civilize him!

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Chapter Questions

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write 7) What was Tom Sawyer planning to do if they had escaped with Jim?

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Tom planned to stretch his adventure out as long as possible, even at the expense of Huck and Jim. “And he said, what he had planned in his head from the start, if we got Jim out all safe, was for us to run him down the river on the raft, and have adventures plumb to the mouth of the river, and then tell him about his being free […].”

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write 8) How was Jim treated after it was revealed Miss Watson had set him free?

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Jim was set free from his chains, cleaned up, fed, and given $40 by Tom. “We had Jim out of the chains in no time, and when Aunt Polly and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally found out how good he helped the doctor nurse Tom, they made a heap of fuss over him, and fixed him up prime, and give him all he wanted to eat […]. [T]om give Jim forty dollars […] and Jim was pleased most to death[…].”

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write 9) What happened to Pap?

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Huck and Jim had encountered Pap before, though Huck wasn’t aware of it. He died under unknown circumstances. The point was that he would never mistreat Huck again. “Doan’ you ’member de house dat was float’n down de river, en dey wuz a man in dah, kivered up, en I went in en unkivered him and didn’ let you come in? Well, den, you kin git yo’ money when you wants it, kase dat wuz him.”

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write 10) What does Huck plan to do at the novel’s end?

Chapter 43: Chapter the Last, Nothing More to Write Huck decides to go West, ahead of Tom and Jim. He says that Aunt Sally has vowed to adopt and civilize him, but he doesn’t want to deal with that again. I suppose I’m going to head out for Indian Territory ahead of the others, because Aunt Sally’s going to adopt me and civilize me, and I can’t stand it. I’ve tried that before.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43

My thematic element was SYMBOLISM. SYMBOLISM: objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. What does the river symbolize in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 As stated by Sparknotes.com: For Huck and Jim, the Mississippi River is the ultimate symbol of freedom. Alone on their raft, they do not have to answer to anyone. The river carries them toward freedom: for Jim, toward the free states; for Huck, away from his abusive father and the restrictive “sivilizing” of St. Petersburg.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 “So in two seconds away we went a-sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river, and nobody to bother us.” This quote shows how Huck feels about the river. He feels safe and free from rules, laws, civilization, and oppression.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 “[W]e… let her [the raft] float wherever the current wanted her to; then we lit the pipes, and dangled our legs in the water, and talked about all kinds of things […].” This quote shows that, on the river, Huck and Jim were free to treat each other equally and with respect. The freedom of the river allowed Huck and Jim to become true friends and make decisions based on their own morals and not the hypocritical morals of society.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 The river is a double symbol: 1. Freedom 2. The journey of life

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 The river can symbolize the journey of life because, in life, we have the freedom to choose what kind of person we want to be. The river also brings Huck into contact with different kinds of people and situations and doesn’t end up where they planned. For example, the fog makes them miss their stop at the Ohio River. Our lives bring us into contact with the good and the bad, and frequently throws us curveballs to which we must adapt.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 Since the river can symbolize the journey of life, the towns can also symbolize something. The towns symbolize the problems we encounter during our lives. The towns test the morality of Huck and Jim. Each time, the behave morally and are able to escape.

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 Later, the river transforms from a tranquil sanctuary into a brief escape route between horrible problems. The horrible problems the towns cause become more frequent and more deadly. 1. burglurs/murderers2. Grangerford/Shepherson feud 3. Con artists4. Losing Jim back to slavery

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 In the end, Huck says that he will go west, into Indian Territory. Huck decides to do this in order to escape more “civilising.” Why does Mark Twain make Huck do this? Perhaps Mark Twain is making a big statement about his society!

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 I believe Mark Twain is urging his readers to abandon the “civilized” society. He wants to get rid of racism, inequality, and hypocrisy. By making Huck go into unexplored lands, he is telling the reader to do the same!

Thematic Elements in Chapter 42 and 43 Mark Twain is telling us: Don’t follow the path society has laid out for you! Make your own way! =)

THE END!!!