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SUMMARY
Since they have lost their raft, they decide to hunt the boat for the robbers skiff. After trying hard for some time, they find it. At that moment, the robbers return with their plunder and suddenly remember that their companion has his share of the money. They decide to rob him of it and go inside the steamboat again. That is fortunate for Huck and Jim as, in the meantime, they cut the ropes that secures the skiff to the steamboat, and escape.
Suddenly, Huck goes through self-introspection and starts empathizing with the robbers' plight. He is overcome with his sense of guilt and he imagines what a dreadful situation they are in. So shaken up he is that he even contemplates going back to them in an attempt to rescue them.
A storm begins and after it has abated a little bit, they manage to find their raft. They transfer the robbers' plunder into their own raft and move on. At the first landing, Huck spots a ferry watchman. In an attempt to quieten the voice of his conscience, he goes up to him and tells him a cock and bull story of his family that is trapped inside the wrecked boat. He pleads the watchman to rescue them. The watchman immediately gets to work but, before long, the wrecked boat floats by and Huck realizes that there would be no survivors. Then he goes up to where Jim is and they settle for the night.
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| The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter 13 |
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The fact that Huck goes through a moral dilemma shows evidence of his innate goodness. Going into a reflexive mood, he feels contrite for the plight of the "murderers, to be in such a fix". He may not adhere to written rules of religion. Nevertheless, he is as god-fearing a person as any of the other so-called religious characters.
The eventual drowning of the two robbers seems to be God's way of administering retribution to those who had planned the doom of their comrade. So there seems to be some hope for justice in the world, after all. The manner in which the other two get drowned echoes what they had planned for their companion. Huck's desire, to go and save the robbers, is driven by his desire to please Widow Douglas. Huck hopes to please the. latter by his act of generosity as he holds her in high esteem. He has a desire to do something that would make her feel that her love and affection for Huck have borne fruit. It is interesting to note that he never makes an endeavour to please Miss Watson. He holds the younger sister in high esteem possibly because of her kindness towards him. Nor has he ever thought of pleasing his father, Pap. On the other hand, he made it a point to do things (such as going to school) in order to spite the latter.