The growth of Jim and Huckleberry Finn during The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn set the stage for Daniel Hoffman's performance in "From Black Magic and White in Huckleberry Finn." Hoffman shows that through Jim's relationship with Huckleberry, the freedom of the river, and "in his supernatural power as an interpreter of nature's oracles" (110) Jim bravely approaches adulthood. Jim's evolution is the result of Twain's "spiritual maturity." Mark Twain incorrectly characterizes the superstition as an African faith, but Daniel Hoffman explains that most of Huckleberry's folk traditions derive from European heritage. Tying one's hair with thread to defend oneself from witches riding their prey is also mentioned in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Hoffman then goes on to ask and answer, "Why, then, is it so important to Mark Twain to have only Negroes, children, and riffraff as carriers of popular superstitions in the recreated world of his youth?" (109) He clarifies that during the time Huck Finn was composed, Twain was living far from his childhood home. His memory of Uncle Dan'l, which Mark Twain divulges in his autobiography, was the origin of Jim, and his stories are distorted by Twain's memory. Hoffman also believes that Twain bases his ideas on “superstition: slaves: childhood freedom” (109). They are grouped together because of his youthful experiences. “The minstrel stereotype, as we saw in the scene, was the only possible starting point for a white author attempting to tackle a Negro character a century ago,” (110) is another of Hoffman's interpretations of the minstrel situation Mr. Twain. Daniel Hoffman hypothesizes that Mark Twain intertwines superstition and freedom. Our first glimpse of Huck Finn is in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when Tom sees him swinging around a dead cat. Huck and his dead cat symbolize freedom for "civilized" Tom. Freedom from the shackles of society may seem ideal for Tom, but it poses a certain danger to Huck. Daniel believes that the hidden death in the natural world scares Huckleberry and makes him want to control it. “For Huck, omens are a recognition of the fact of death.” (102) Although Huck may try to master these powers of nature, he is only a student compared to Jim. Over the course of the book Jim goes from being a man controlled by his fear of witches to controlling evils. With Jim's power to predict the future he becomes more free.