Huck Finn chapters 11-21

Mrs. Loftus is one of the more sincere people Huck runs into throughout the course of the book, but her attitude toward Jim makes her goodness somewhat disappear for Huck. Mrs. Loftus is clearly a clever woman, as we see in the things that she tests Huck with. Mrs. Loftus and her husband are only too happy to profit from capturing Jim, and her husband plans to bring a gun to hunt Jim like an animal. Mrs. Loftus makes a clear distinction between Huck, who tells her he has run away from a mean farmer, and Jim who has done essentially the same thing by running away from an owner who is considering selling him. Mrs. Loftus and the rest of white society can see the difference between an abused runaway slave and an abused runaway boy, Huck does not. Huck and Jim’s raft becomes a sort of peaceful place of brotherhood , they are treated better now . The two even talk about stealing, though their resolution to give up stealing a few items to render their other stealing represents an attempt to practical and moral concerns. The pattern of Huck’s childishness getting both himself and Jim into trouble continues in these chapters, as Huck follows his Toms ways. Jim and Huck are lucky to escape, and the incident proves to be another reminder that even on the river they are not safe from the problems that plagued them at home, violence and cruelty at the hands of any white adult. Huck’s attempts to reconcile the situation show that he is learning, despite his immaturity. When Huck acts like Tom Sawyer trouble follows but when he acts like himself things generally turn out fine.The fact that Jim sees the foolishness of many of Huck’s choices but never stops Huck, reminds us of Jim’s extremely hard position as an escaped slave. In a number of instances in the novel, Jim tried to stop Huck from a foolish plan, but eventually gives in to the boy. Twain never explains Jim’s reasoning, but the reason is always there that Jim’s caution stems from his constant fear of being caught and returned to his former owner. After all, Huck is a free white child who could turn in Jim at any time and collect a large reward for doing so. Although this idea seems never to cross Huck’s mind, its always on Jim's mind.