Jim Pretends to Sleep (Dramatic Irony)
In the first chapter of James, Jim waits on Miss Watson's porch for her to bring him a pan of badly cooked cornbread. Jim can hear Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn watching him from the bushes. Knowing that he ought to go along with whatever white people want, Jim pretends to be asleep so the boys can prank him. In this instance of dramatic irony, the reader knows that Jim hears the racist, belittling things Tom says about him while Tom remains oblivious to the fact Jim is merely humoring him.
Language Lessons (Dramatic Irony)
Early in the novel, Jim hosts a language lesson for his daughter and other enslaved children. Jim coaches Lizzie and the others to speak in an affected, uneducated slave dialect when in front of Miss Watson and white people. He also instructs them to never undermine a white person's authority or make them feel threatened by saying anything intelligent. In this instance of dramatic irony, the reader learns that every black person speaks eloquently and in a grammatically correct way in private; they only code switch around white people to ensure their safety.
More Food to Offer Than They Did (Situational Irony)
While separated from Huck in Illinois, Jim befriends several enslaved men. He hides out in the woods near their plantation, catching fish in the river. The men stop by occasionally with charity. Jim comments: "Often they would bring me scraps, but it turned out more times than not that I had more food to offer than did they." In this instance of situational irony, Jim—a runaway slave with almost nothing—has access to more food than the slaves because their cruel owner keeps them in a state of near starvation.
Jim is Huck's Father (Situational Irony)
After the paddleboat explodes, Jim sees that both Huck and Norman need his help to avoid drowning. Jim rescues Huck, prompting Huck to ask why he would choose to save him over the friend calling out Jim's name. Jim admits then that Huck, though white-passing, is his son, implying that he and Huck's mother had an illicit relationship when they were younger. In this instance of situational irony, the reader understands that behind Huck and Jim's unlikely connection is a deeper bond than Huck could have anticipated.
