Parental Influence on Huck Finn Essay

Widow Douglas is a Christian woman who takes care of Huck while his father is absent. She is the main mother figure that Huck has; therefore, has an influential role in Huck’s moral development. The Widow is extremely willing to take Huck in. In the beginning of this novel, Huck explains that, “the Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would civilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time…”(Chapter 1). Widow Douglas enjoyed the task of making Huck civilized. To Widow Douglas, being a civilized human means being proper, polite and acting in a respectful manner. In her house, there are strict rules, and no leniency for breaking them. She teaches Huck about the Bible, and makes him say grace before every meal. Her morality includes always acting in a traditional conforming way. When Huck and Tom are conversing about a hypothetical genie situation, Tom says; ”how you talk, Huck Finn. Why, you'd HAVE to come when he rubbed it, whether you wanted to or not" (Chapter 3). Tom knows that Huck is well mannered. He knows that even if Huck does not want to do something, he will if it is the right thing to do because of the values that the widow has instilled on him. Widow Douglas does not allow Huck to argue against her, for her word is always what goes. Widow Douglas has pure intentions for Huck in her efforts to make him into a civil man. She forces Huck to rid himself his bad

Mark Twain satires society and portrays it as being uncivilized with drunkenness (Nyirubugara). As mentioned in the beginning of the novel, Pap is the first person introduced as being a drunk. Pap did not like the fact that Huck was becoming smarter than him and when he regained custody of Huck he made sure that Huck stopped going to school. Since Huck was no longer in school, he spent most of his days protecting himself from his drunken father’s abuse, so once he ran away it was not hard for him to shift into adulthood.

Even though Pap is Huck’s biological father, he is everything a father shouldn’t be. For example, he constantly leaves Huck home alone, confined in his cabin for a long period of time. "Every little while he locked me in and went down to the store, three miles, to the ferry, and traded fish and game for wiskey and fetched it home and got drunk and had a good time, and licked me."(Twain 35) This quote not only shows that Huck was left on his own, it also shows that Pap is not a suitable father because of his drinking problem, and also his abusive behavior. His drinking problem is not only a waste of money, but it is a dangerous addiction not only for Pap’s health, but for Huck’s. "He chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldent come for him no more. I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed such a screechy laugh, and roared and cussed , and kept on chasing me up." (39) This quote shows that during one of his hallucinations, he almost kills Huck. Alcohol

One motivation made by greed was Pap's need for Huck's money, held by Judge Thatcher. Skillfully, Huck sells his 6,150-dollar fortune to the Judge for one dollar to ensure his father will never pose it. Sorrowfully, this does not discourage Pap's advances

The first contrast between Jim and Pap is the initial reaction Huck has when encountering them. When Huck is on Jackson’s Island, presumably alone, but then comes across a smoldering fire, he is at first frightened, but once he sees that the other refugee is Jim, he pops right out of the bushes and greets him. He is glad for his company. However, when signs of Pap being around are apparent, Huck is seen to panic, and rushes off to rid himself of his fortune. He knows that Pap is greedy enough to steal from anyone, even his own son. When they come face to face, it becomes clear that Huck is afraid of his father, who used to beat him while in a drunken state. During this confrontation, it becomes clear that Pap resents that Huck is being educated, and feels threatened by it. On the contrary, Jim teaches Huck what he knows, and is proud of him for thinking up schemes, such as faking his death to escape his father’s grasp. As Jim and Huck travel together, Jim shows more consideration and a protective nature for Huck, and he tries to act, as much as he can, as a shield between Huck and the corrupt world, which is something Huck’s father never did. On the contrary, Pap exposed Huck to more corruption than most others his age, such as Tom Sawyer, were expected to have been exposed to.

Is he right? Pap yells at huck because he thinks huck is not civilized but in reality huck is be more educated and pap is not right because he should be proud of his success. 5. What was Huck's plan of escape from his father?

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.

When Pap wakes with a gun pointed at his head, he confronts Huck about how the gun appeared there (40). Away from the safety of society, Huck must fabricate a lie to save his life, even though he must lie to his father. Life or death situations necessitate Huck’s lying. Before escaping from the cabin, Huck fakes his own death with pig blood, axe markings, and other signs (42-44). Huck commits an epic lie when he fakes his own death successfully; he lies to the entire town as well as to his father.

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:

In the beginning of the novel mostly, Pap is a major character for many reasons. He is a static and flat character who never changes from his abusive, ignorant, alcoholic and racist self. Although he is not physically present in most of the story, he is present in the thoughts and actions of Huck. Growing up, Pap was never the dad Huck wanted and needed him to be; he was never there for him and even used him to get what he wanted at times. The novel states, “..and he went to Judge Thatcher's and bullyragged him, and tried to make him give up the money; but he couldn't, and then he swore he'd make the law force him,” (Twain, 50). This quote explains how Pap tried to get his sons money for one reason; alcohol. Pap will do anything he possible can to get his alcohol because he is an addict. He will steal, lie and even abuse his son to get what he wants. For this reason, Pap is also an antagonist throughout the novel. Huck is always fighting against his father; both physically and mentally. So Pap Finn is an addict, but there are good qualities to him, right? It’s not too hard to realize that this statement is false. Fathers are supposed to want what’s best for their kids, but Pap is not the same. Pap says to Huck, “You've put on considerable many frills since I been away.  I'll take you down a peg before I get done with you.  You're educated, too, they say—can read and write.  You think you're

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

At the beginning of the book, Huck fakes his death and fools pap and the people in the town. Huck says in the book “I fetched the pig in ,and took him back nearly to the table and hacked into his throat with axe and laid him down on the ground to bleed.”(Twain 33). Huck plays it smart and also in the book he says that he got a bag of rock and dragged it to the river where it would have

Later, Pap wakes from a drunken sleep and chases after Huck with a knife, calling him the "Angel of Death" but stopping when he passes out.

The next day huck finds a drifting canoe on the rising river. When Pap leaves for the night to go drinking, Huck escapes through a hole he sawed in the cabin wall. He takes all the cabin's supplies and puts them in the canoe; he then shoots a wild hog and uses its blood to make it look as if he were murdered. By staging his own murder, Huck thinks he can escape without the threat of being followed. At dark, he leaves in the canoe and eventually lands downstream at Jackson's Island and this marks the fact that huck successfully made his escape from pap on his own.

While Pap may have been Huck’s father by blood, he did none of the things that would even remotely make him a “real” father. From Pap, Huck learned nothing but about how immoral and vicious humans can be. Every time Pap is drunk, he terrorizes Huck, so much to the point that Pap’s drunkenness