Well, I Guess I'll Go to Hell Then

How now, Jim?

Two of my favorite friend stories (that's a thematic oversimplification to say the least) are Of Mice and Men, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Thinking of Huck and Jim, through the lens of King Lear which is always on my mind, I am struck by a fun parallel. Jim is the Fool character to Huck, the lost kinglet. Of course, in Lear the Fool is no fool at all, dispensing sideways wisdom left and right. In addition, there is the journey parallel: Jim and Huck on the river, Lear and his Fool in wilderness. The tenderness of the friendships between Lear and the Fool, Jim and Huck, are among the most moving I have read. In that moment when Huck decides he is not going to turn Jim in, believing it means damnation for him, he says "Well, I guess I'll go to hell then." A great moment.

And then ... George speaking calmly to Lenny at the river and asking him to describe the rabbits, how their life is going to be as he puts the luger to the back of his head. The compassion and bond of these characters in each scene wrings out my heart to no end and reminds me why the classics are classics.

And why I am glad for the few duable friends I have.