In this quote, the character of Huck Finn had just played a prank on his friend Jim, a black man. Almost immediately following the trick, Huck feels guilty for what he did, and eventually works up the courage to apologize to Jim for what he's done. Huck then goes on to explain that he will no longer play any tricks on Jim, as he wishes Jim no harm.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is set in the 1830's to 1840's - a time which in America, slavery was still in heavy use, as slavery was not abolished until late 1865. This is what makes and contributes to the idea that Huck was originally having a pretty difficult time apologizing to Jim for his actions. In this time, white people saw themselves as far superior to those with black skin, and a white person would almost never have considered a black person as their friend, let alone apologize to them when they have done wrong. In doing so, it was then perceived that both the white and black person were considered of equal worth, which was not believed by most people in the vast majority of the 1800's.
In addition, Mark Twain uses specific language and grammar, not only in this passage but also in the entirety of the novel, to portray how people really spoke in the times of slavery. The English language sounded very different in those times, with different accents on the words and different uses of words. The reader can see how Huck was of a lower class in society in the way he spoke with little or skewed grammar, and can even read in Huck's portrayed accent when reading words such as "warn't" come up as shown in the given passage. For word choice in the novel, Twain used the word "n*****" in an almost excessive amount. While this word usage is highly debated by all who read the book, it is factual that the word was used very casually in the past and in the 1800's especially. Many argue that Twain was capturing the real essence of the era by using the word.
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