One significance of this story is the way it reflects on
Jim and his humility. The story, importantly, demonstrates that Jim's humility is not
borne out of his "social condition" as a slave, but instead stems from his experience
with his family.
Lizabeth, Jim's deaf daughter, taught Jim
a potent lesson about assumptions, compassion, and empathy. He had thought his daughter
was not minding his instructions and he went so far as to strike the young girl. Then he
discovered that she could not hear his instructions. She was
deaf.
Jim is naturally saddened and humbled by this
experience. In his willingness to recount the story to Huck, Jim demonstrates that this
humility is now fully incorporated into his character. This humility contrasts with
Huck's continuing juvenile tricks and slight abuses of Jim and Jim's
patience.
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