Huck Finn #3

In Chapters 8-16, the reader has to translate Jim's broken dialect numerous times. Choose one passage of Jim's speech and record the following:
1.) the original text (needs to be at least 3 sentences long)
2.) Translate it into "modern English."
3.) Explain what this speech of Jim's reveals about his character. (Some indirect characterization.)

Jim's speech:
"Well den! Warn dat de beateness notion in de worl? You jus' take en look at it a minute. Dah's de stump, da dat's one er de women; heah's you dat's de yuther one."

Well then. Look at the beateness notion to the world. Just take one look for a minute. Thats the stump thats one of the women's thats the other one.

This speech just shows you how strongly that he thinks about certain opoions and that you can't argue with him because your not going to win. So thats why Huck just gave up because he wouldn't one.

"Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren; Jim's ever had; en you's de only fren' old Jim's got now."

"Pretty soon I'll be shouting for joy and I'll say its all because of Huck. I'm a free man and I wouldn't be free if it wasn't for Huck. You did it! I won't ever forget you Huck. Your the best friend I've ever had. Your the only friend I've got now."

This reveals that Jim is a slave and that Huck saved him from leaving and staying a slave. Jim realizes that Huck is really his friend if he saved him like that and says that he is his only friend because nobody else would save him like Huck saved him.

"Why, de fog!- de fog dat's been aroun' all night. En didn't you whoop, en didn't i whoop, tell we got mix' up en de island en one un us got los' en t'other was jus' as good as los', 'kase he didn' know whah he wuz? En didn't i bust up agin a lot er dem islands en have a turible time en mos' git drownded?
My Translation: "Why, the fog. The fog that has benn around all night. And didn't you whoop to see where i was when we got mixed up and then i whooped back and the island and one of us got lost and the other was just as lost as the other, in case he didnt know where he was? And didnt i bust up again alot in the islands and i had a terrible time and almost drownded. what this speech reveals about Jims character is that he is a true southerner and talks the talk and walks the walk.

1. "Doan' hurt me- don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for 'em."

2. Dont hurt me, dont! I didnt do anything to harm a ghost. I always liked dead people, and I did all i could for them.

3. This says about Jim that he believes in ghosts and he thinks that ghosts can be bad. If he didnt think ghosts were bad he wouldnt have been scared. This also show that Jim gets scared easy.

"Doan hurt me" dont hurt me
he didnt use the T not to hard to figure out :ppppp

Chapter IX
1.) "Well, you wouldn't 'a' ben here 'f it hadn't 'a' en for Jim. You'd 'a' ben down dah in de woods widout any dinner, an gittin' mos' drouwnded, to; dat you would, honey. Chickens knows when it's gwyne to rain, en so do de birds, chile."

2.) "Well, you wouldnt have been here if it hadnt been for Jim. You would have been down there in the woods without any dinner, and getting almost drownded to; that you would, honey. Chickens know when it's going to rain, and so do the birds, child."

3.) Jim believes he is the one who saved Huck. Even though Hucks the one who had the boat, food, and gun, and supplies. This shows that he thinks the olderones always take care of the little one. He called him child and honey. It also shows that Jim is superstitious. He believe chickens and birds can predict when it will rain.

"well, it's all right anyway, Jim, long as you're going to be rich again some time or other." "yes; en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn' want no mo'."

My translation is well it's all right anyway, Jim, as long as you're going to be rich again some time or other. Yes; i am rich now, come to think of it. I owe myself, I was worth eight hundered dollars. I wished I had the money, I wouldn't want no more.

It shows that jim is very uneducated, and dosent know how to speak very well etheir. Chances are that he never went to school and was educated or read books.

Doan' hurt me- don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for 'em. Don't hurt me dont! I didn't do anything to hurt a ghost. I always liked dead people, and I did everything I could for them.
Jim is uder the impression that huck is a ghost after he ran away from his owner and is scared out of his mind.

"Well,you see, it 'uz dis way. Ole missus-dats mis watson-she pecks on me de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she alwuz said she wounn' sell me down to Orleans. But i noticed de wuz a niggar trader round de place considerable lately, en i begin to get uneasy. Well, one night on dem ol pooty late, en de do warn't quite shet en i hear old missus tell de widder shed get eight hundred dollars for me, en it wuz rich a big stack o' money shed coudn't resist. de widder she try to get her de say she woudn't do it, but i ner waited to hear de res. I lit out mighty quick i tell you."

Huck is asking Jim the story of why he ran away. Jim says that he snuck up on his Miss Watson and overheard her talking about selling him to New Orleans, even though she said she never would. She said she could sell him for $800 and she didn't want to resist that money. After that, Jim couldn't take any more, so he ran away.

Jim: What's de use er makin' up de camp-fire to cook strawbries en sich truck? But you got a gun, hain't you?Den we kin git sumfn better den strawbries. I couldn't git nuffin else.

What's the use of starting a camp fire to cook strawberries in such situation? You have a gun, don't you? Then we can get something better then strawberrries. I couldn't get anything else before.

This speech shows that Jim eats what ever he has to to survive and that he wants something else than strawberries.

Jim's Speech: "Yes. You know that one-laigged nigger dat b'longs to old Misto Bradish? Well, he sot up a bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much. So I stuck out for mo' dan fo' dollars, en I said 'f I didn't get it I'd start a bank myself."

2. Yes; do you know that one-legged black man that belongs to old Mr. Bradish? Well, he went up the bank, and said that anybody who puts in a dollar would get four dollars more at the end of the year. And so, all the black men came, but they didn't have much money. I was the only one that had a good amount of money. So I tryed to get more then four dollars, and I said if I didn't get it at the end of the year, I would go and start a bank on my own.

3. It reveals that Jim is very much into haggling (trying to get the most out of his money and etc.), is very independent, and isn't like all the other black men who have very little money; that he is actually good at saving his money.

1."Well, you see, it 'uz dis way. Ole missus- dat's Miss Watson-she pecks on me all de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she awluz said she wouln' sell me down to Orleans. But I noticed dey wuz a nigger trader roun' de lace considable lately, en I begin to git oneasy."

2. Well, you see, it was this way. Old Mrs. Watson picks on me all the time, and treats me pretty rough, but she always said she wouldn't sell me down to Orleans. But I noticed there was a n**** trader around the place constantly lately, and I began to get uneasy.

3. This reveals that Jim isn't very smart, and that he didn't want to be sold. He saw that there was a trader around his place and so he got the feeling that he was going to be sold. He didn't want to be sold, so he ran away. It also reveals that Jim is a nice man but his owner always picked on him and treated him badly.

" What's de use er makin' up de camp-fire to cook strawbries en sich truck? But you got a gun, hain't you?Den we kin git sumfn better den strawbries. "

What's the use, your making up the camp fire to cook strawberries and such a stuck? Don't u got a gun? Then we can get something better then strawberries.

This reveals that Jim does have much education. But if he walked in to our school and started talking to us we would thing he's a " hillbilly" also being the race he is at thi time he's use to living on little so he gets creative in getting food.

1. "So I done it. Den I reck'n'd I'd inves' de thirty-five dollars right off en keep things a-movin'.

2. So I did it. Then i reckened I would invest the thirty five dollars right away and keep things moving.

3. Jim's dialects shows that he is from down south and he also has the slave dialect. Being a slave means that he most likely doesnt have much education and that shows through when he talks.

page 91
"I doan' want to go fool'n 'long er no wrack. We's doin' blame' well, en we better let blame' well alone, as de good book says. Like as not dey's a watchman."

I don't want to go and fool around on a ship wrack. We would get blamed for something bad, and the Bible tells us not to. Like there is no one watching.

This shows that Jim is a very timid person who doesn't like to take risks. Also, he is religious somewhat and believes that there is always someone watching over you and your bad decisions.

" so i done it. Den i reck'n'd i'd inves' de-thirty-five dollars right off en keep things a-movin.
so i did it, then i reckond i would have invested in thiry dollars right off then i keep moving.
jim shows a somewhat southern voice then goes to an American

In chapter 8 a couple of pages in when Huck finds Jim on the island Jim gets down on his knees and begs to Huck with his thick southern accents. "Doan' hurt me-don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all i could for 'em. You go en git in de river ag'in, whah you b'longs, en doan' do nuffin to old jim, 'at 'uz alwuz yo' fren'." Basically Jim thinks the Huck he is seeing is a ghost sent for Jim. This passage also shows that Jim is Superstitious and kind of Religious.

"I got hurt a little en couldn't swim fas', so i wuz a considable ways behine you towards de las."

Jim is saying, "I got hurt a little and i couldn't swim fast, so i was a considerable ways behind you towards the last.

It is saying he is not a good swimmer and he is far away from Huck who Jim needs around him, to help him.

Jim- "Doan' hurt me- don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for 'em."

Don't hurt me. I've never harmed a ghost. I've always liked dead people and i've done all i can for them.

That Jim is a person who is harmless and cares.

"I doan'want to go fool'n 'long er no wrack. we's doin' blame' well, en we better let blame' well alone, as de good books says. Like as not dey's a watchman on dat wrack."

I don't want to go messing around in someone elses wreck. we dont want the blame, because if we get the blame we will have to take it. When you look at the situation you think of a good book, "a watchman just watching the wreck..."

This shows that Jim is very harmless and cautious, he usually thinks before he dose something that he might regret.

so i don it. den i reck'n'd i'd inves' de thirty-five dollers right off en keep things a-movin'.

So i did it. Then i thought I'd invest the thirty-five dollers right away and keep things mooving.

I think that the reason Jin talks like that is that he never had been tought how to speak fluent inglish.