James: A Modern Retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows the story of a boy escaping from his town in order to evade his abusive father with an African American slave by the name of Jim. James by Percival Everett is a retelling of said story that follows a very similar narrative to Mark Twain’s, this time written from Jim’s perspective. However, the story shifts into something different in its second part, from which a new ending begins for the beloved protagonists. 

Art by Laurel Molly.

Why is this retelling important for modern audiences to read? Well, throughout literature of the 20th century, African American characters have been disconnected from other non-Black characters. James by Percival Everett works to create a dialogue on the treatment of African Americans in literature and expands upon the riveting stories these characters could have if given the chance. Through Jim’s language, relationship with Huckleberry, and fighting spirit for change, Percival Everett displays Jim’s struggle to find acceptance throughout the narrative. 

Similarly to Mark Twain, Everett places an emphasis on the diction of the African American characters throughout the novel. The novel opens with Jim teaching his daughter, Lizzie, how to speak English properly and how to mimic what is referred to as "slave talk." All of the African American characters to whom the readers are introduced are aware of this difference in language and practice speaking to each other in regular English while utilizing a broken English when speaking to white people. Everett highlights how they purposefully use simpler words and broken grammar in order to make the white characters feel more in charge and less threatening. Through their struggles to survive and fit in with society, these enslaved individuals fight to learn how to communicate in a way that would ensure their survival while retaining vestiges of education like teaching each other how to read and write. Overall, the use of language throughout the novel highlights an important struggle of African Americans and how they managed to overcome it. 

Being regarded as slaves, African American characters of the time were seen as lesser than, many times used for comical relief or simply as disconnected from the rest of the cast. However, being the focal point of the novel, Jim specifically struggles to form trusting relationships with other characters, especially Huckleberry Finn, but eventually overcomes these struggles, resulting in deeper connections. Just like in the original novel, Huckleberry Finn fakes his death and runs away from their town. Jim garners a particular relationship with Huck due to him running away as well after being informed that he was about to be sold away, separating him from his wife and daughter. Since Huckleberry is a white boy, Jim struggles to find a new normal in conversing with him. Everett creates this relationship in order to demonstrate the differences in experiences between Jim and Huck, but also show their similarities despite being on different ends of society--enslaved and free. At many moments in the novel, Jim views the boy like a son, always prioritizing him. Despite their differences in race and maturity, they are both able to live together, eventually resulting in Huck wanting to stay with Jim despite the knowledge that he is safe to go home. Huckleberry feels accepted when with Jim and wants to stay with him even after Jim decides to embark on the dangerous journey of saving his wife and daughter, differing from the original plot of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They become father and son, but Jim still searches for freedom and believes that he would only feel accepted once black men are emancipated. 

Jim decides that he wants to fight for a change--to be freed from the chains of slavery-- when he first begins to write his story, a narrative completely separate from Mark Twain’s novel. Jim can read and even write, acquiring a pencil which he uses as his life line to share his struggles and story. Many African American characters written by other authors, not discluding Mark Twain, are portrayed with highly harmful stereotypes. By allowing Jim to write his own story, Percival Everett finds a way to combat against the more racist parts of the original novel, displaying how African Americans in the times before slavery and even in the times of segregation were forced to struggle in order to feel accepted. Jim decides to write a novel and throws away the name "Jim"-- instead, he becomes James. 

James is a powerful African American character in both this retelling and in the original novel. Escaping the grasps of slavery and still heading back to save his family, James time and time again displays his unrelenting mission for safety and freedom not only for himself or his family, but for all of the other enslaved individuals struggling in the hands of slavery. 

If anything I mentioned in this article interests you, go pick up the novel and give it a chance. Even though the story of James follows a similar beginning to the novel it was based upon, readers of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would still be enthralled by this retelling, especially since there are more twists and turns which I have not mentioned…