In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, Huck generally puts himself down when he does things that conflict with
society's accepted mores (values), even though, ironically, Huck is the one who is
really doing the right thing. Twain uses Huck to demonstrate the foolishness of the
society's perceptions of right and wrong (re: slavery, feuding, etc.). Huck's character
remains consistent throughout the story, letting us see the South and its citizens with
Huck's "self-deprecating" honesty.
Huck
does consider the way Tom was raised, with values of the deep
South, superior to how Huck has been raised. (Once again, this is particularly ironic.)
When Huck refers to Tom's "bringing-up," he is wondering how Tom could even
imagine freeing Jim. It goes against everything that Tom would have
been taught as a "son of the South." Huck may believe that he (Huck) can be excused for
his behavior because he isn't educated or righteous like the others
around him (though Huck needs no excuses). Huck's observation about Tom makes sense.
Most people will not stray far from what they have been taught. One might first assume
that because Tom has a wild imagination, perhaps it is his ability to envision the world
as he wants it to be through the illusion of his adventures that
allows him to see Jim differently than those in his family or society. We know for
certain that he doesn't care about Jim the way Huck
does.
However, the truth finally comes out that Tom did not
have to make a moral decision about Jim; this makes much more
sense—showing again what a good judge of character Huck is. Tom arrived at Aunt Sally's
knowing that Miss Watson had freed Jim. The bottom line is that because
he has this knowledge and no one else does, he can use Jim's
predicament (that the locals think he is a runaway slave) as a form of personal
entertainment: Jim provides Tom with the chance to plan out yet another unnecessary
escapade. This also shows how cruel and unthinking Tom is: he does not even consider
what Miss Watson's action would mean to Jim. Tom is
clueless.
Once Tom explains Miss Watson's decision and his
knowledge of it, we see that Tom truly is a young man with the
values of his society—without the convictions that Huck has; and by comparison, Huck is
the "better man."
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