Who gets to tell history? Just because we have a story doesn’t mean we have the truth. History is a woven tapestry of perspectives, one that grows richer and more honest the more voices we allow into it. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn presents a narrative where side characters exist largely to serve Huck’s moral journey. In contrast, Percival Everett’s James reclaims the identity of one of those marginalised figures, shifting the perspective and challenging the reader to reconsider what was left unsaid. No longer a character in service of plot, James explores the duality of perception, the power of narrative voice, and the nature of silence, especially how history forgets those who did not speak, even when silence itself was an act of self-preservation. In this episode, I compare Huckleberry Finn and James to examine perspective, narrative authority, race, and the ways literature shapes our understanding of truth and history.
Painting: Today I painted Huck and James on a raft along the Mississippi
Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- James by Percival Everett
- What is History by E.H. Carr
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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