Saturday, October 05, 2024
James
One day when I was skimming the Front Porch Republic blog, I read that someone had crafted a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. I knew that I had to read this book, so I got in the very long hold line at the Seattle Public Library, and, eventually, I had this tome in my hands.
I didn't read the blog close enough. James is far more than an Elseworlds version of Huckleberry Finn. In Mr. Everett's book, the Jim we saw in the original was a sham. The enslaved folk, of course, are as fully intelligent and resourceful as the dominant white people. But the black people exploit the white folks' prejudices to maintain the fiction that they are less intelligent, capable, and wise as they really are. Jim has taught himself to read. Jim has surreptitiously made use of Judge Thatcher's library and has wrestled with the ideas he has encountered in those books. Like the original, when Jim gets wind that Miss Watson is planning on selling him, he elects to escape. Huck, attempting an escape of his own, stumbles across Jim's hideout. The two then head downriver. When circumstances separate the two from time to time, Jim has his own adventures.
At first, my mind tried to read James as a version of Huckleberry Finn. It would question and nitpick details. But eventually I realized that I needed to be reading Mr. Everett's tale and not worry how well it kept continuity with Mr. Twain's book. James is the story of a man and a people trying to navigate through oppression and violence. Many tales set in antebellum times try to make the society more palatable. This one exposes the ugliness of racism and oppression. And it made me wonder to what ugliness in our own society am I blind. I think I need to get a copy of this book on my shelf.
Labels: OnMyShelf
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