Looking at all the ending I realized they were all different and they tried to appeal to different groups of people. To compare the endings I used the book, the movie from 1939, and the musical from 1974. The 3 versions wanted best to accentuate what they thought to be the moral of the story. The moral they want to let live on. I have broken up the endings into three parts Jim, the King and Duke, and the final scene. .
First off Jim, Jim is one of the nicer characters. During the play he becomes dear and almost like a father figure to Huck. But in every version Jim is found, retuned and/or abused by slave catchers. In the book version he is sold by the King and Duke to Mr. Phelps, who we later find out is Tom Sawyer's uncle. Huck goes over to try and free him because of the close bond they share. In the 1939 version the king and duke tell on Jim as he and Huck are trying to get Jim to an abolitionist's house. The white mob then sends Jim back to stand trail for the murder of Huck. Again Huck's emotions towards Jim make Huck rush to his rescue. In the 1974 version the King and Duke tell some slave catchers about Jim and they find him and tie him up. Huck frees Jim and allows Jim to escape. .
These scenes have the same interpretation; Jim can only get his freedom with Huck's help. Huck and Jim depend greatly on each other. Jim is the father figure for Huck and Huck is the only person that can help free Jim. All three versions want us to see the emotional bond between the two and how they have to depend on each other. But they also want us to see that the black man needs the white man. .
The King and Duke can really be compared as the meaner version of Huck and Jim. They both depend on each other and are only looking out for their own needs, like Huck and Jim. But the King and Duke will be maliciously in their scam causing people to get hurt. In the book, the real Wilks brothers show up and foil the king and Duke's plan.