Throughout the novel, the protagonist experiences various internal conflicts because he's torn between following his heart or society, between listening to his family or to Jim, among other struggles. The most important conflict that contributes to the growth of the character is how he learns to act around Jim. While he was still convinced that Jim deserved a different treatment because of his condition of slavery, he also believed deep in his heart that Jim was an honorable person and should be treated like so. Eventually, he does what's right and apologizes to Jim and treats him differently, even when society has convinced him that this is the wrong thing to do.