false analogy: when two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them
"'Well, it's a blame' ridicklous way, en I doan' want to hear no mo' 'bout it. Dey ain' no sense in it.'
'Looky here, Jim; does a cat talk like we do?'
'No, a cat don't.'
'Well, does a cow?'
'No, a cow don't, nuther.'
'Does a cat talk like a cow, or a cow talk like a cat?'
'No, dey don't'
'It's natural and right for 'em to talk different from each other, ain't it?'
''Course.'
'And ain't it natural and right for a cat and a cow to talk different from us'
'Why, mos' sholy it is.'
'Well, then, why ain't it natural and right for a Frenchman to talk different from us? You answer me that.'
'Is a cat a man, Huck?'
'No.'
'Well, den,dey ain't no sense in a cat talkin' like a man. Is a cow a man?-er is a cow a cat?'
'No, she ain't either of them.'
'Well, den, she ain't got no business to talk like either one er the yuther of 'em. Is a Frenchman a man?'
'Yes.'
'Well, den! Dad blame it, why doan he talk like a man? You answer me dat!'"
-Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
In this passage Huckleberry Finn is trying to explain to Jim that Frenchmen speak French, and that it is not "weird," just different. However, Jim will not accept the analogy between a cat speaking "cat" and a Frenchman speaking "French," because they are two different species, not two different people. Twain inserts this false analogy to demonstrate the relationship between Jim and Huck and to show ignorance of Jim. Twain is showing that Jim is not educated at all, this is important as it is contrasted by hid character. Jim is ill-educated, but very well-mannered. Twain is showing that even if slaves are not educated they are still people, and have the same emotions and character traits as the Caucasians. Twain is also showing that Huck and Jim talk together, they are forming a friendship.
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