Master James

by Fran Withrow 07.2024

It has been decades since I last read “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I barely remembered the story of young Huck Finn and the enslaved Jim, who sail down the Mississippi River in the mid-1800’s. But I recalled enough to eagerly want to read “James,” Percival Everett’s incredible retelling of Huck Finn’s experiences, told from Jim’s point of view. 

And goodness gracious me. Everett has taken this tale and knocked it out of the park.

When Jim, enslaved along with his wife and child, learns that he is about to be sold, he runs away, planning to return later and buy his family’s freedom. He first hides out on an island nearby, where he meets up with Huck, who has also run away from his horrifically abusive father, Pap.

As these two runaways float downriver, they end up in all kinds of scrapes. Jim is snatched by a couple of thieves, who sell him to a blacksmith, who sells him to a blackface minstrel group. Huck and Finn even stow away on a steamship, where we meet one of the novel’s more heartbreaking characters: Brock, who shovels coal in the bowels of the ship and has not been outside the furnace room in a very, very long time.

Coming at this story from Jim’s point of view makes it a completely different experience. Jim, who narrates this tale superbly, gives the reader incredible insight into the Black experience of the 1800s. His account is a testament to the courage, resilience and ingenuity of enslaved persons. And it demonstrates just how utterly brilliant Jim is as he faces one challenge after another and survives, though not without scars, every time. 

Everett demonstrates Jim’s brilliance repeatedly. For instance, enslaved people know that the language they use when talking to white people helps whites feel safe, and reinforces white belief that Black people are unintelligent, incapable of higher thought, and good only for labor. Jim switches effortlessly back and forth between these two modes of speech, depending on who is around, with whites none the wiser.

Jim can also read and write, and manages to obtain a small pencil—for a terrible price—and paper so he can write his narrative. The pencil is a metaphor for power, for hope, for the importance of telling one’s story. It is a way to lay bare the horror of enslavement, the constant guessing necessary to keep from being sold, lynched, or whipped. 

“James” pulls no punches about the violence experienced by those who are enslaved. There is rape, abuse, and death. The “N” word is used liberally, but the way Everett utilizes it is masterful and one feels the harsh sting of it on every page. 

Written so well one can hardly put this book down, we watch as Jim gains increasing confidence, a sense of agency, and a determination to find his family. The ending is perfectly sublime, will leave you cheering, and will cause “James” not only to win your heart, but stay nestled there for a very long time.