During the time period, and especially because of the location, of the story, society viewed black men and women as lesser beings. Pap supported slavery and belittled blacks, and so did the Widow by owning slaves, even though she is portrayed as an upright individual. Nonetheless, Huck breaks away from traditional ethics and becomes a companion to Jim despite the fact that he is a runaway slave. Jim makes him promise not to tell anyone where he his and Huck answers, “I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it. Honest injun I will. People would call me a low down Ablitionist and despise me for keeping mum-- but that don’t make no difference” (55). This shows that Huck understands how the ethics he is supposed to follow contradict his decision to help Jim, but he still goes through with the promise anyway. His declaration is also an early example of Huck committing to a set of uncommon