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Part 1, Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in James, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance
Identity, Narrative, and Agency
Racism, Dehumanization, and Hypocrisy
Innocence vs. Disillusionment
Family, Alliance, and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
Cold weather continues, and Jim hides more logs, though he worries the theft will be noticed. One day, Sadie overhears Miss Watson telling Judge Thatcher that she is going to sell Jim to a man in New Orleans, splitting up their family. Jim immediately packs a bag, intending to run away and hide out on Jackson Island on the river. Sadie protests, implying that he will be killed if discovered. Jim reassures her and Lizzie that he will come back for them, and sets out calmly into the woods, feeling scared and angry.
It is worth noting that, despite Jim’s speculation that he will be caught stealing logs, Miss Watson gives no reason for her decision to sell him. Despite Jim’s efforts to meet her expectations, Miss Watson chooses to tear his family apart seemingly on a whim, once again illustrating her dehumanization of Black people. Sadie’s fear that Jim will be killed if he runs clarifies the high stakes of Black disobedience. That Jim is willing to risk death to stay with his family demonstrates his fierce love and loyalty for them.
Themes
At dusk, Jim sails out on a log on the river. He gets stuck in a trotline but manages to break the tether, taking three catfish for his dinner. He makes it to Jackson Island, where he guts the fish and sleeps. The next morning, Jim discovers Huck on the island, covered in blood. Afraid of his violent father, the boy has faked his own death by killing a pig in Pap’s cabin. Jim realizes that people will assume he killed Huck, since he ran away at the same time of the supposed murder. This complicates his plan to hide on the island, which might be searched. Huck cannot understand why Miss Watson would sell Jim when he has a family.
While Jim runs away for the sake of maintaining contact with his family, Pap abuses the only family he has, to the point that his son is driven away. Nevertheless, Jim knows that he will likely be blamed for Huck’s death, simply because he is Black and ran away at the same time Huck disappeared. Though the injustice of this situation is obvious, it is fairly typical for the society in which Jim and Huck live. Huck’s confusion about Miss Watson’s plan to sell Jim highlights his childlike innocence; furthermore, his ability to empathize with Jim shows that he has not been fully corrupted by racist white society at this point.
Themes
Jim uses a piece of glass to start a fire to cook the fish. Huck is still confused about Miss Watson’s desire to sell Jim, as he himself does not value money. Judge Thatcher and some others float by on a ferryboat, firing a small cannon into the water, clearly hoping to find Huck’s body. Huck remarks that it would be funny if another body floated up instead, and Jim says, “Hilarious,” slipping into his natural speech. He redirects Huck’s attention to the boat but is alarmed by his mistake. Jim is afraid of the consequences of Huck's presence, and he hopes the two of them can avoid becoming the corpses everyone is looking for.
Huck’s disregard for money points to his childish ignorance of the larger world. Jim, on the other hand, is painfully aware of the severe consequences of their predicament, and his anxiety casts a shadow over Huck’s attempt at humor. Jim’s unease causes a momentary lapse in his slave dialect, and this slip further erodes his already precarious sense of safety.
Themes
