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A response to a scene from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn


In Chapter 31 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the king sells Jim for 40 dollars. This scene helps advance the plot in many ways. It moves the book into a new theme, and changes the plot.

One way that this event helps advance the plot is that before this, Huck, Jim, the king,  and the duke were just rowing down the Mississippi River, making money here and there, but it got so you knew what was going to happen next. But now, since Jim was sold, he didn't  have any trouble ratting the king and the duke out. So now, the king and the duke are out of Huck's life, and the book can move on.

Another advancement in the plot is that this gives Huck a new goal: To steal Jim. This gives him something to do instead of relaxing as the river carries their raft down the river. This adds excitement and suspense to the book.

The most important way that this helps advance the plot is that it brings Tom Sawyer back into the book. When Huck goes to Silas Phelp's house to try to get Jim back, he doesn't realize that this is the home of Tom's Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally. When Tom comes down for a visit, he was sure surprised to see Huck. Together they team up to steal Jim. 

Therefore, even though this looks like an unfortunate turn of events, Mark Twain uses this to bring in a few new themes into the book. This combination of themes makes one of the better and unique parts of the book.