But for now, he [Jim] was a slave. Not far from the big house of the slaveowner was a pond. Jim liked to sit beside it and think. Someone had told him that animals used to talk. And Jim dreamed that someday some animal would talk to him and tell him how to get his freedom. . . . . . . And he thought one day that if he let his owner meet the cooter, he might get his freedom that way. After all, a talkin cooter was a wonderful thing to hear. Which statement best describes Jim’s viewpoint in the story? He is doubtful that he will ever live as a free man. He believes that his owner is a fair and honest person. He thinks that the cooter is trying to deceive him. He is hopeful that he will eventually escape slavery.