I have been keenly awaiting the publication of Percival Everett's new novel James (2024), a reimagining of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1886) from the perspective of Jim, a slave. I thought I had better refresh my memory of Twain's story before embarking on the retelling, as it has been many decades since I last read Twain as part of my high school curriculum. So to reacquaint myself with these characters, I began with Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and continued with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1886) where we get to know Twain's Jim.
The following reviews may contain spoilers for those unfamiliar with the tales.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
Set in St Petersburg, Missouri (a stand-in for Twain's boyhood home of Hannibal), in the 1840s, Tom Sawyer is an orphaned boy of around 12 years old living with his Aunt Polly and half-brother Sid. He's an adventurous lad, skipping school, hatching schemes and picking fights. Aunt Polly threatens discipline, but is so soft-hearted towards the boy, he knows he can get away with anything. He cons local boys into whitewashing a fence and he conspires to win a Bible despite not knowing any scripture. He also woos Becky Thatcher, daughter of the local judge, in a bungled romance.
Sawyer befriends Huckleberry Finn, a vagrant boy with an abusive alcoholic father. Huck and Tom sneak out at night for adventures and find themselves in a graveyard where they witness a crime take place. The boys swear a blood oath never to speak of what they saw.
Tom, Huck and their friend Joe decide to become pirates and set off down the Mississippi River on a log raft to commence their life of crime. They adopt the lingo and speak in the arghs, ayes and ahoys of their new profession. After a few days of absence, loved ones have presumed the missing boys are dead, and the pirates are getting homesick. They return home triumphant, having caused such worry. Further adventures follow, culminating in a successful hunt for lost treasure and a home for Huck with the Widow Douglas.
I power-read Tom Sawyer with the audiobook performed by Nick Offerman. I loved Offerman's work in the performance of George Saunders'
Lincoln in the Bardo, and he did not disappoint here.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1886)
Next up, I read the sequel -
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1886) - alongside the audiobook brilliantly performed by Elijah Wood. Unlike
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was narrated in third person,
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is directly told by the protagonist which immediately changes the reader's relationship with our hero.
The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson have become guardians to Huck, and have invested his money for his future. Huck continues to run with Tom Sawyer's gang. Pap Finn, Huck's alcoholic and abusive father shows up now that his son has wealth and seeks to gain the fortune. After nearly being killed by his father, Huck fakes his death and runs off to Jackson's Island.
On the island he encounters Jim, Miss Watson's slave. Jim had fled when he learned he was to be sold and sent further south, away from his family. Huck and Jim make plans to travel to the Illinois, a free state where slavery was prohibited. Both are searching for freedom.
Jim and Huck travel along the Mississippi River on a log raft, heading toward Cairo where Jim plans to buy his freedom. Along the way they encounter all sorts of people and Huck uses his quick wits to escape any trouble. Helping Jim to runaway causes Huck to grapple with his conscious. Miss Watson has been kind to Huck and Jim is her lawful property. However, the longer they travel together, the more Huck empathises with Jim's plight.
Reading this novel as a refresher before Everett's James, I paid particular attention to the character Jim. He is a smart man, deeply loyal to his friend Huck. He is tender, almost parental, towards Huck, teaching him skills they need to survive and sharing superstitions that will bring them luck. Jim's homesickness and longing for his children is deeply moving.
I enjoyed this story, although I felt it dragged in parts - like the extended encounter with the two con artists - but also found it relaxing as Huck describes the world around him while floating on the raft. When our old friend Tom Sawyer shows up in the last quarter the pace quickens again. The boys set about freeing Jim who had been captured as a runaway slave. There is an easy way to do it, but Tom embarks on an elaborate scheme reminiscent of the adventures he has read in Dumas.
Both books capture a nostalgia for a simple life, depicting the innocence and imagination of childhood. They are classic tales filled with adventure, humour and a moral compass. Nearly each chapter features a new adventure, giving the stories a momentum. While written for tweens and young adults, there is plenty to delight adult readers. The historical context, with the novels set just before the Civil War in a state where slavery was commonplace, provides the backdrop for considerations of the meaning of freedom. While the boys want to pursue their adventures, and the treasure gives them the financial means to be free from their low circumstances, Jim seeks autonomy and personhood. Twain's use of vernacular English is remarkable and I enjoyed Twain's use of words like 'rubbage' (a combination of rubbish and garbage).
Reading these books 150 years after publication it is uncomfortable to read the n-word used frequently and the portrayal of Native Americans is similarly jarring. However, I am concerned that these books have been banned or expurgated (sanitising the content by replacing racist words), and believe they should be read and critiqued, not censored or bowdlerised.
Now that I have refreshed my memories of Twain, I am ready to explore Percival Everett's James (2024). Can't wait!
