A question I have had throughout most of the book, but particularly during these chapters is: why does Huck have so many "alter-egos?" The kid is constantly lying to someone and pretending to be someone he's not; he even pretended to be some random made-up girl once. Also, where did he get his impulse lying bug, because he lies with ease and does it often, too. I guess my real question is: why doesn't he maintain one fake identity instead of inventing a new one each time he decides to fake being someone else? Also, what is up with Tom? It makes no sense for him to help Huck go on a goose chase for some man Tom doesn't know, especially when the person they're looking for is a black man who wasn't of much worth to Tom. So why would he want to help? I actually enjoyed these chapters. Mostly because Huck is accepting Jim now as a friend, and his viewpoint that Jim is (or ever was) a piece of property is changing. He is beginning to see Jim as a human being with feelings and desires just like anyone else, and I think it's a huge step in the right direction for Huck (even though he thinks it's a sin and that he's going to Hell now). I'm proud of where his heart is. A takeaway or theme from this chapter that stood out to me was that, when Jim was ransomed and Huck went back for him, this was Huck's subconscious way of showing his "unwarranted" friendly affection for Jim. The whole aspect of their forbidden friendship makes the storyline so much more interesting and kind of adorable. It's kind of like a love story, only it's friendly adoration rather than love, so it makes me curious as to how the story is going to end.