Parent Figures in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the development of a young boy named Huck Finn. We see Huck develop in character, attitude and maturity as he goes on his adventure down the Mississippi River. This is displayed through his search for freedom from civilization and it's beliefs and through his personal observations of a corrupt and immoral society. Most importantly, we are in Huck's head as he goes through his confusion over his supposedly immoral behavior and his acceptance that he will “go to hell” as he conquers his social beliefs.

the young protagonist Huckleberry Finn does not have a good father, and as a result he finds a father in someone else. Huck Finn deals with an alcoholic abusive irresponsible father, Pap, who kidnaps and physically abuses him. In order to escape, Huck fakes his own death and runs away to Jackson Island where he encounters Jim, a runaway slave he knows from the house of his previous caretaker before he was kidnapped. Huck and Jim embark on an adventure on a raft and throughout the novel Jim evolves into the good father figure that Huck never had. Although, Huck’s biological father is Pap, Jim becomes Huck’s true father in the novel because he cares for Huck as his own by protecting him, scolding him, and passively teaching him what he can.

The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim are central to Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Huck's relationships with individual characters are unique in their own way; however, his relationship with Jim is one that is ever changing and sincere. As a poor, uneducated boy, Huck distrusts the morals and intentions of the society that treats him as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. The uneasiness about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, leads Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially concerning race and slavery. Twain makes it evident that Huck is a young boy who comes from the lowest levels of white society. Huck's father, Pap, is a drunk who disappears for

In Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the adults in Huck's life play an important role in the development of the plot. Pap, Huck's father, constantly abuses the boy, never allowing him to become an intelligent or decent human being. He beats and attacks Huck whenever they meet up, and tries to destroy Huck's chances of having a normal life. This situation is balanced by several good role models and parent figures for Huck. Jim, the runaway slave, embraces Huck like a son, and shares his wide ranging knowledge with him. He also protects Huck on the journey down the river. Widow Douglas is another good role model for Huck. She tries to civilize him and make him respectable to society,

In the novel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, the main character, Huckleberry Finn has many men in his life that are father figures. These men are both super-eminent and atrocious. Through the use of Huck’s parental figures, Mark Twain reveals that Huckleberry’s biological father isn’t fit to care for a boy. He also shows the King and Duke are inferior parents compared to the social outcast Jim.

father for one. He seems to have more in common with Huck than Pap does with Huck as well.

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classical novel that contains numerous themes and ideas. Alongside the themes of freedom, race, rules, religion, and deceit lies the most important theme throughout the entire story; family. Throughout the novel, Huckleberry Finn battles with whether or not family supports and builds you up or if it orders you around and tears down your ambitions. One quote that perfectly describes this concept was spoken by Aishwarya Rai Bachan who stated that, “my family is my strength and my weakness.” (Bachan 1). Family is a theme that constantly emerges in Huckleberry Finn, one that is constantly getting re-defined: from the Shepherdson and Grangerford feud, to Huck living with Miss Watson and Widow Douglas, to Huck discovering a father figure in Jim.

A father is usually the person who an adolescent boy learns from and looks up to. Huckleberry Finn is a boy who, from the very start, lacks an appropriate father figure. There are two older males in the novel that are closely related to Huck: Pap, his biological father, who is an incurable drunk, and Jim, who is a black slave belonging to the widow and her sister, with whom Huck lived. These males attempt to lead Huck down two very different paths, in the end, Jim acts as a foil to Pap and proves to be a better father figure.

Huck has had enough with their failed relationship, deciding he can handle such an atrocity, he decides he will run away from his monster of an alcoholic father. Pap will never be able to have a relationship with his father, because he was probably drunk, got into an argument and was shot and killed. Alcoholic parents’ actions often hinder the child’s ability to tell what is right from wrong.

This is in contrast to the way Huck’s father is depicted, who Twain describes using all of the above characterizations and more. The reader views Jim as a good friend a man devoted to his family and loyal to his

Since Tom’s parents died, he lives with his Aunt Polly, his half-brother Sid, and his cousin Mary. Huck, however, still had his father, Pap, but is equivalent to not having a father

In contrast, Huck appears to have no desire to have a relationship with his father. At one point in the story Huck does not even know if his father is alive or not, and apparently does not care to know. Because of his father's

Huck's father is absent until he finds out that Huck has found some money.  Pap is an outcast full of hate for blacks and pretty much for all of society.  Huck, as a product of his society, speaks the language of his society.  By choosing as his point-of-view a young boy from the slave south, Twain is able to present and challenge the values and assumptions of this time.  Among the assumptions and values of the time that the reader encounters in the book are the strict definitions pertaining to Huck's world and the people who inhabit it:

Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Huck’s honest voice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the portrayal of family in the novel. Although many themes and topics can be found in this novel, the topic of family is very important because in the end, Huck’s new family provides peace for the confused, ignorant boy Huck was in the beginning of the novel. Through his travels, Huck accumulates his “floating family”. Through Huck’s adventures, he finds not only people to join his “floating family”, but places that feel like home for Huck as well.

Child abuse had a great on effect Huck’s whether if it had to do with where he is living or a decision he has made. Huck has been abused for most if not all of his life by his father, Pap. Huck stated, “I used to be scared of him all the time, he tanned me so much” (17). This quote shows how Huck had to deal with Pap’s abuse before and could not help himself. It shows that Pap has poor ethics shown by beating his child simply because he can. This is an immoral act on Pap’s part because he believes he can control Huck’s life including his life choices and his possessions. Pap says, “I’ll take you down a peg, before I'm done with you” (17). Pap continues to torment and threaten Huck even though he has not been around of the most recent parts of Huck’s life. Pap’s ideologies have not changed since Huck was younger. Pap’s ideals consist of being able to do what he wants when he wants. This was apparent when he tries to threaten Huck and put himself above Huck. In the 1800s community leaders felt responsible for helping orphaned or abandoned