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SUMMARY
Next morning, Tom sends Huck down to the cellar to fetch some butter while he himself gets down to work. On his way back from the cellar, Aunt Sally intercepts him and orders him to go to the "setting-room" where she would question him. As Huck enters the room, he finds about fifteen farmers, all armed with guns. It is evident that everyone has taken the "nonnamous letters" seriously and are extremely uneasy on that account.
Meanwhile, the butter starts melting and comes trickling down Huck's forehead. Aunt Sally thinks it is brain fever. She pulls off his hat and discovers the buttered bread. She is mighty relieved to find out that it is nothing as serious as she had feared.
Huck runs to where Tom is and urges him to cut short the entire paraphernalia associated with the escape. Tom is excited at the success of his adventure. All three of them start running, chased by the armers. The latter start shooting and Tom gets hurt in his calf. When they reach a dark patch, they hide behind the bushes and let the others pass. The dogs recognize them as friends and do them no harm.
When they are out of danger, Tom congratulates Jim that he is a free man. When they see the bullet wound on Tom's leg, Jim refuses to move until they call a doctor to nurse it. Despite Toms protests, Huck gets ready to fetch a doctor. Tom makes him promise that the latter would blindfold the doctor before he gets him to their hiding place.
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| The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter 40 |
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Tom seems to be really serious about his "style". When he gets hurt in the leg, he is "the gladdest of all. So obsessed is he with the stories of heroism and escape that he considers himself privileged to be shot at. In true heroic style, he insists that Jim, now that he is free, should leave them and run away. Despite the pain and bleeding, he has the nerve and spirit to recall the "way they all do" in the stories and direct Huck to blindfold the doctor before he gets him to their hideout. It seems as if Tom were truly hypnotized by his love for heroic adventure.
The readers are already acquainted with Jim's caring and compassionate nature. But this chapter further warms our heart towards him. Despite the danger of being recaptured, he resolves to stay with the wounded Tom. At his resolution, which could entail not just the loss of freedom but possibly the loss of life as well, Huck says he knew that Jim was "white inside." Huck has reached complete emotional maturity with this comment. Now, he truly believes Jim to be a real man, just like any other "white" man.