Comprehensive Summary and Review of
Chapters 11-16
Summary:
Huck introduces himself as "Sarah Williams" from Hookerville and
begins to ask the woman some questions. Even though she seems to be a bit
wary, she nevertheless proceeds to tell him all the gossip and news. She even
includes the part about Huck having been "murdered" and that a Jim,
a runaway slave and Pap were the main suspects. She also tells him that a
group of men were planning to go to Jackson Island that night because smoke
had been seen coming from the island and town suspected that it was being
used as hideout.
When Huck returns, he tells Jim what he had heard and they decide that they
would have to leave. They discover a raft, which they make their new home
and set out to sail down the Mississippi River where they will both be free.
Jim and Huck travel by night to avoid being caught, and sleep out in the woods
in the day time.
One night they drift past a wrecked steamship. Huck decides to board it and
see what he can salvage from it. On board he overhears two men threatening
a third one and planning to kill him. Huck wants to prevent the men from escaping
and he and Jim decide to cut the men's boat loose. Instead, they board the
boat themselves after they realize that their raft has floated away. Some
distance away, Huck regrets what he has done and that the men were stranded
so he decides to go ashore for help. Before he lands, they find their raft.
When Huck reaches land, he makes up a story and tells a ferry watchman that
his family is stranded on the steamboat and needs help. He then leaves and
goes back to Jim.
Throughout the trip, Huck and Jim talk about many different things and get
to know each better. Huck tells Jim stories about kings and queens and about
foreign places. One night, during a dense fog they are separated when Huck
is in the canoe and Jim is on the raft. When they finally are reunited, Huck
plays a joke on Jim by pretending that nothing had ever happened and that
Jim had been dreaming. After a while Jim realizes that it had not been a dream
and he gets angry at Huck for making a fool of him after he had worried about
him so much. "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to
go and humble myself to a nigger," but Huck apologizes.
Some time goes by and Huck meets a few men who are searching for runaway
slaves and want to search the raft. Even though Huck has mixed feeling about
slaves and the fact that he is helping Jim, a runaway slave escape, he decides
not to give him up. He makes up a story that his family on the raft is sick
with smallpox. The men don't want to expose themselves to the disease and
even give him forty dollars in gold so that he would leave the area and get
help elsewhere.
Another adventure awaits them when a steamboat hits the raft and breaks it
apart. Jim and Huck dive off in time, but are separated. Huck makes it ashore,
but is caught by a pack of dogs
Review:
When Huck and Jim find that there are men on the island searching for Jim,
they decide to leave and travel down the Mississippi River and up the Ohio
River into the free states. On the river, they live an easy life as they travel
during the night and hide during the day.
Traveling down the river, they have many adventures, but they miss the turnoff
into the Ohio River. During the journey, Huck and Jim's friendship grows considerably,
and the two become like family.
Jim's character is revealed and his sincerity towards Huck can be seen when
he tries to shield him from looking at the corpse.
It is also noteworthy to note the change in Huck on the issue of slavery.
Huck and Jim are separated when their raft hits a steamboat and Huck goes
ashore. His loyalty towards Jim is put to a test as well as his feelings about
the issue of slavery and blacks. When he doesn't turn Jim in, one can see
that Huck is beginning to reject what society stresses and what he has accepted
in the past..
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