The Old South deformed the consciences of the people living there, making them blind to the inhumanity of slavery. Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" tells the story of Huck Finn, a young boy, who finds friendship in a runaway slave named Jim, despite his own racist background. Though Huck and Jim bond throughout their journey, Huck struggles to overcome the way he was raised and see Jim as a person capable of feelings and emotions. Throughout his journey down the Mississippi, Huck is faced with challenges where he must decide Jim's fate, but as his bond with Jim grows stronger, he begins to "unlearn" the racist views he was taught and see Jim as a human being.
             Huck, who grew up playing tricks on others with Tom Sawyer, realizes for the first time that African-American slaves are capable of feeling pain, and he learns that true friends do not try to hurt each other. For example, Huck tries to play a prank on Jim, not expecting his serious reaction. He does not think about the humiliating effect the joke would have on Jim. Jim calls Huck out on the cruelty behind his antics, telling him that, "When I wake up en fine you back agin, all safe en soun', de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss' yo' foot I's so thankful. En all you wuz thinking 'bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie" (Twain 95). For the first time in his life, Huck is forced to realize that his actions can inflict emotional pain on others. Huck feels so guilty that he "could almost kissed [Jim's] foot to get him to take it back" and decided to change his ways, never "[doing] him no more mean tricks" (95).
             Huck sees the pain he has caused Jim, and he begins to understand that even black slaves have feelings. As his friendship with Jim grows, his perception that slaves are inferior and incapable of real human emotions starts to erode. He even...