At one point during their raft journey, Huck becomes lost in the fog. When he finally finds his way back to the raft, he decides to pretend that Jim was only dreaming during the incident. Jim, who was sincerely worried about his missing friend, fails to see the humor in this joke. Thus, Huck is somewhat surprised when "the slave asserts the central demands of human dignity and solidarity" (Lindborg 585-586). Jim's hurt feelings make Huck feel ashamed for mistreating his friend. As Huck claims: "It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back" (Twain 90). Later in the novel, Huck's moral development is taken a step further when he decides to risk damnation in order to liberate Jim from bondage. Because of society's laws, Huck is confused into believing that he will go to hell for freeing a slave. Despite this fear, he bravely makes the correct moral choice and acts on human values rather than social values.
Carrington has pointed out that Twain used "several of the classic devices of farce" in the composition of Huckleberry Finn (219). These devices include, for example, chase sequences, people in funny disguises, bizarre coincidences, and illogical actions. Another humorous device, which predominates throughout the novel, is Twain's use of native dialects in order to convey dialogue. In fact, the entire story is told through the words of Huck himself. Huck's misuse of language, as well as his childlike perspective on life, are sources of humor throughout the book. As noted by Lindborg, "because the reader often knows more than Huck does, his naive narration lends irony to the work"
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