Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Making of a Literary Climax

"I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn't do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking - thinking how good it was all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me all the time: in the day and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, 'stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had small-pox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he's got now; and then I happened to look around and see that paper.

"It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:

"'All right, then, I'll go to hell' -- and tore it up.

"It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't. And for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog."

-Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, (206-207)

Scholars consider this passage to be the climax of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Confronted by the fear that keeping Jim hidden from his master, Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson and subsequently feels peace at his choice to follow society's norms. However, after much introspection, Huck decides to free Jim, even if it means his eternal soul is in jeopardy. In contrast to most other portions of a novel, the climax has as its primary goals to heighten emotion and point out the main idea which the author is trying to get across. Twain himself detested the idea of others finding deep meaning or societal statements within his writings, so this section should be analyzed, not to find some sort of racial statement or declaration about the human condition, but to see how well it works as a climax - whether or not it builds up emotion towards a strong and resolute high point. The syntax, diction, and tone of this passage show that Twain has created a powerful literary climax and thus is a strong author.

Twain uses specific forms of syntax in order to build up to his powerful climactic sentence. In the paragraphs preceding this passage, Huck is resolute in his plans to turn Jim in, and is jubilant that his soul has been saved from hell, to which in his eyes he would be condemned if he assisted Jim any further. Still happy about his choice, Huck is "thinking how good it was all this happened so" as a reaffirmation of his choice (2-3). Had Huck stopped thinking and went on his way, he would deliver the letter and be absolved of his "sin." But he "kept on thinking," and it is at this point when he begins to have second thoughts, and begins "thinking over our trip down the river" (4-6). "Thinking" here is a reflection of what Huck's heart truly feels, in opposition to the attitudes of the day. Not merely an example of good diction, "thinking" demonstrates the powerful syntax in the passage - where "kept on thinking" is a short, simple sentence that quickly and efficiently changes in meaning to shift Huck's mind from reaffirmation to doubt, contributing to the power of the climax. Semicolons help build up the momentum towards the climax of the book, as Huck's different memories with Jim are not separated into different sentences (4-13). This mirrors the steady stream of memories in Huck's mind as they wash over him, changing his mind from turning Jim in into willingly saving him. And this stream of memories is abruptly stopped by a short, simple sentence, as if a faucet had been turned off: "and then I happened to look around and see that paper" (13). Huck speaks as if it were accident that he looked at the letter, jarring him out of his reflection, but it was a logical extension of his thoughts, and his mind is already made up, and is echoed by his famous words: "All right, then, I'll go to hell" (17). This short sentence is firm and resolute, and it is at this point when Huck finally sees Jim as an equal, being willing to sacrifice his soul for Jim's liberty.

The diction in this passage, as in most of the book, is informal, allowing the reader to understand just what Huck is thinking at any given time. However, it seems clearer than it usually is, perhaps because of the simple message in his words, or the need for Twain to make very clear one of his main points. Twain wrote this book in opposition to the racism of the day, and so it makes sense that his declaration that blacks are just as human as whites would be as clear as possible. The use of the word "strike" implies that Huck is not just thinking of the good time he had with Jim, but actively trying to find something against him, like physical blows that Huck just cannot land (6). The word "trembling" is important -- Huck's mental and emotional reflection outwardly manifests itself by his trembling, showing that the tough persona Huck tries to show is broken by the memories of his friend (14). This demonstrates the power of the passage and the power of the thoughts involved - Huck here wants to free Jim, but literally feels as though to do so will damn him to hell. Understanding the true dilemma that Huck is facing heightens the emotion of this passage. The phrase "for good," when Huck says that he is going to rebel and might as well go all the way, has a double meaning, because it not only means "sure," but it also notes that Huck is rebelling "for good" as opposed to the evil racism of the day (22). This not only increases the power of this passage through Huck's resolution, but also makes the reader feel as if Huck has scored a victory for good, making the climax forceful and permanent.

The tone of this passage shows Twain's personal connection to the subject of racism and slavery. Writing this book after the Civil War, he saw a nation where slavery was illegal, but racism was rampant. Thus, it would not be enough for him to write against slavery, because that issue had been decided twenty years before his book was published. Huck's statement "All right, then, I'll go to hell" shows not just that Jim does not deserve slavery, but that his life is equal to that of a white man (17). By our twenty-first-century standards, this seems obvious, but it was certainly not in Huck's society, and so the slow buildup of doubt in Huck's racist world is both realistic and groundbreaking for the time (4-16). This kind of statement, from a purely literary point of view, would only add to the power of this passage by the sentence "It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said" shows that to make this jump from racism to tolerance is neither easy nor immediate, but it needs to be done (18). The shock value alone of equating a black man with a white man in those days of racism would have increased the effect of this passage as a climax.

Huck's powerful statement of self-equality with a black man sets him apart from the rest of his society, and in later chapters, places him on a higher moral ground than Tom Sawyer, who sees Jim's plight only as an opportunity for adventure. Twain may or may not have sought to make a strong statement on race and society in his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but this passage works amazingly as literature, because it functions as a powerful climax. The way that this passage uses diction, syntax, and tone builds up emotion to a strong yet simple statement demonstrates that it deserves its place as one of the greatest pieces in American literature, and Mark Twain as a master of literary skill.