Huck fakes his death and flees to Jackson Island. On the island,
he meets Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave. He tells Huck that Miss
Watson had been planning to sell him to slave traders and before she had
a chance to do so, he ran away.
After a few days, the boys decide that they need a better
hiding place than just the open field and eventually find a large cavern
in the middle of the island. This place also offers them shelter against
the weather and the flooding river. One day an empty houseboat floats down
the river past the island and Jim and Huck are able to retrieve some odds
and ends that are of value to them. They also find a man's body inside the
cabin. Jim shields Huck from looking at the corpse saying that it is too
"ghastly".
Wanting to find out if anything new had occurred in town,
Huck decides to go back disguised as a girl. On shore, he finds a woman
who is a newcomer to the area.
Review:
Huck fakes his own murder and escapes to a nearby island. He meets Jim, the
slave, who has also run away.
These chapters lay the groundwork for Huck's change of thinking about blacks
and the issue of slavery. They also show his ability at being self sufficient
and extremely inventive.
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