Huck Finn in the Present Day

What if Huck Finn took place in the present day?  Well, it is safe to say there will be many changes.  First, Jim would not be a slave because of the time period.  Huck would have probably have been connected to a prison somehow which Jim would be a prisoner.  The prison must have also been in the south because it is one of the only places in the country where blacks have been tangibly discriminated to this day.  Second, the technology and common sense that there is in the world would severely hinder their plans.  There would be cameras and long distance communication available for Miss Watson and the prison warden.  Also, people would probably be alarmed if they see a child floating down a river on a raft.  Third, the population and laws have been greatly changed.  Many people would be looking for Jim and Huck and the Duke and Dauphin would also likely be arrested.  Paps would have also been imprisoned long before.  Jim would have also had to be deliberately falsely accused of something for the morality element of the story to carry any weight.  Finally, the transportation available to them would have made it very easy for them to travel up north, eliminating most of the story and the ending.  So in reality it would just be a child attempting to run away with an escaped prisoner.

A Perfect World?

Many people have been calling for all forms of discrimination to end.  Although this may be a nice thought, it is fundamentally impossible for all forms of discrimination to ever end.  We as humans naturally move away from something or someone that is different, and tend to fight what those differences are.  The best we can do as a society is try to better ourselves and our communities to try to keep an open mind and respect everyone.  This philosophy is perfectly represented in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Huck is trying his best to be open to Jim and his ideals and beliefs, but he can't help but also feel the ideals he was taught before meeting Jim, that he was superior just because of his race.  And no matter how much Huck changed, the world around him never did, resulting in a little impact on Jim's well being as a slave.  Huck was also flawed in his own thinking in regards to Jim and all the slaves.  When thought about Jim, he would think, "he was right; he was most always right; he had an uncommon level head" (Twain 87).  This proves Huck would sometimes think Jim had little knowledge and wisdom just because he was slave.  Huck could not fight those thoughts even he mostly knew they were wrong but couldn't fight what he was taught to believe.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a perfect example of how all forms of discrimination can never be gone from the world and all we can do as people is try to fight it.