Up until this point in Huckleberry Finn, Huck has had this view of Jim as being a little bit simple minded and happy go lucky about things. There hadn’t really been any indications that Jim had problems like many of the other characters we meet or that he was suffering from any internal battles. However, when Jim finally reveals to Huck that he worries for his family every night it makes Huck realize that there’s a lot more to his friend than meets the eye. This little conversation between them drastically changes how Huck perceives Jim as a person. It makes Huck see Jim as more of a human being rather than just another slave who doesn’t have feelings and fears and worries.
Jim is a unique sort of character in the book in comparison to some of the others that we’ve met. He’s selfless and a little naive about how the world works, which shows in how he doesn‘t believe certain things that Huck tells him (like how French people speak a different language). I honestly don’t think he has a mean bone in his body. Some characters, like the dauphin and the duke, are vile and take advantage of the kindness that they're shown by townspeople. Jim is always kind and somewhat even tempered about things, and he treats people well. Despite this people still look down on him and treat him as if he’s less than human simply because he’s African American.
There aren’t many things that Jim seems to be truly concerned with. However, the things that he does worry about are very important to him. Gaining his freedom by fleeing with Huck and worrying about how his family is going to fare now that he’s gone seem to be the two main things that he thinks about. Jim is also concerned with doing the right thing morally, which is why he doesn’t like being around the dauphin and the duke.
Overall, it seems like Jim’s slowly becoming a more complex person, and Huck is starting to see that Jim isn’t his inferior but his equal. I think that this will only continue to strengthen their friendship as the book goes on.
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