We had Jim out of the chains in no time, and when Aunt Polly and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally found out how good he helped the doctor nurse Tom, they made a heap of fuss over him, and fixed him up prime, and give him all he wanted to eat, and a good time, and nothing to do. And we had him up to the sick-room; and had a high talk; and Tom give Jim forty dollars for being prisoner for us so patient, and doing it up so good, and Jim was pleased most to death, and busted out, and says:
“Dah, now, Huck, what I tell you?- what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’? I tole you I ben rich wunst, en gwineter to be rich agin; en it’s come true; en heah she is! Dah, now! doan’ talk to me- signs is signs, mine I tell you; en I knowed jis’ ‘s well ‘at I ‘uz gwineter be rich agin as I’s a stannin’ heah dis minute!” (Twain, 233)
This excerpt comes from the beginning of the last chapter of Huckleberry Finn. The first paragraph gives some perspective on all three of the major characters within the book- Jim, Huck, and Tom Sawyer. Jim, who started the book as a slave who seemed to have more superstition than sense and made Huck’s sentences appear readable by comparison. In these two paragraphs, we are shown that Jim, while still acting the fool, is a kind and compassionate man despite living in a world where he is ranked behind boys like Huck and Tom.
“Dah, now, Huck, what I tell you?” is the first words out of JIm’s mouth. Jim is happy, because he has been given 40 dollars by Tom. On the surface, this is a normal reaction. However, the reason that he gave up his freedom to nurse Tom was due to Tom choosing to play a game with his life. Despite this, Huck perceives Jim’s words as an exclamation of joy and relief that Tom is willing to pay him for his contribution, which he definitely doesn’t have to do. The next part of the sentence, “what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’?” is a reference to the beginning of the story, when Huck first meets Jim after he faked his death to get away from his abusive father. Jim was (not very) rich, then gambled and lost it- but now he has even more money than he lost. In this case, though, Jim may consider his family, and not the money, the “rich wunst and gwineter be rich again” aspect. When Jim escaped because he thought he was going to be sold, he left his family behind, still in slavery. When he returns a free man, he can be reunited with his family, and regain the ‘riches’ that he lost.
When Jim exclaims his happiness to Huck, he is also expressing his relief “en I knowed jis’ ‘s well ‘at I ‘uz gwineter be rich agin” and hope that he can finally go home. In many ways, this is one of his most poignant contrasts with Huck, who is happy for Jim, yet cannot conceive of the happiness that Jim feels about returning to the place where he grew up.
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