Paper Topic:

Compare and Contrast

JIM AND FREDERICK DOUGLASS

Introduction

Mark Twain 's Jim one of the principal characters in his famed novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , and the real life personality of Frederick Douglass the great abolitionist had much in common . They represented the rise of the black American community in Southern America in the 19th Century . A study of the biography of Frederick Douglass and his initial rise from a slave to an abolitionist very vividly portrays the trials and tribulations that a black American had to undergo in those times (Douglass , 2004

. Douglass also had the courage to pen his own story . Jim on the other hand provides a perspective . While their struggle against slavery is the same , the difference lies in the portrayal of resistance by a common man and that by a leader who having freed himself takes upon the task of freeing the entire community . Thus we see many common threads in these two personalities , one fictional and the other real as well as a few contrasts

The Personalities - Life and Times - Jim

To understand the similarities in the slave life and characters of Jim and Frederick Douglass , it is important to dwell on one principal character , Jim in detail . Jim is the runaway slave pitched along with the principal protagonist of the novel Huckleberry Finn by the same name (Twain , 1981 . Set in the southern state of Missouri in the 1830 's the book provides a fascinating back drop to the seminal events of the times along with a socio political perspective of American inter racial relationship . Jim accompanies Huck in his escapade from the clutches of his drunken father , attempting to seek salvation from slavery . The accompanying voyage of the two , one slave owning white American and the other a slave provides a glimpse of the times when slavery was regarded as a virtue amongst whites in America rather than a sin Mark Twain portrays Jim as a humble yet audacious black American continually referred to as a , Negro ' not in any derogatory sense but this being the common manner of addressing the community in the times of setting of the novel . Jim is a lovable and caring person who is highly sensitive . These qualities of Jim enamor Huck and he vows to save him when he is captured after escaping from slavery despite knowing the consequences of the act in the southern states in the 19th Century . Thus Huck during their escapade comes to regard him with respect as one of his own ilk rather than of different color or creed

Jim is not an erudite person however he is blessed with earthy common sense and has the ability to survive in the cruel World through his sagacity rather than intellect . He is also a good observer of nature and understands it much better than many others who are more educated . Thus he accurately predicts the storm on Jackson 's Island through actions of birds . He is also a very good judge of human...

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