Huck Finn Chapter 14

Chapter 14 just had a lot of good discussion points in it for me. The King Solomon story I blogged about before was good, but another good discussion point to me came shortly after that when Huck and Jim were talking about a Frenchman speaking French. The argument takes place on pages 124-125. In the argument, Jim thinks it’s ridiculous that a Frenchman speaks a different language. He feels all men should speak the same way because all men are essentially equal. Huck argues that it’s natural for a Frenchman to talk differently. It is plain to see by the different stances of each character’s arguments how they feel. Huck considers the Frenchman to be a completely different individual, almost a different species if you will. He compares the Frenchman speaking French to that of a cat and a cow talking different from each other and from humans. Jim, on the other hand, considers it absurd for a Frenchman to talk in a different language because although he is of a different nationality, he is still a man. Jim sees all men as equals. 

It’s interesting to me to see the different viewpoints each of the characters has. Huck considers it natural to differentiate between humans based on something as small as the language they speak. Jim sees it differently. He refutes Huck’s argument that cats and cows should naturally talk differently from men because they aren’t men. A Frenchman is still a man, no matter how you look at it, and Jim considers him equal. Jim’s argument is much the same as his King Solomon argument in that it is very superficial and somewhat ignorant. However, Jim knows no better and still makes very good points.