Essay on Portrayal of Family in Huckleberry Finn

Jim, who becomes Huck's friend as he travels down the Mississippi river, is a man of intelligence and consideration. "An understanding of Jim's character is by no means a simple matter; he is a highly complex and original creation, although he appears at first sight very simple" (Hansen, 388). Jim has one of the few well functioning families in the novel. Although he has been estranged from his wife and children, he misses them dreadfully, and it is only the thought of a lasting separation from them that motivates his unlawful act of running away from Miss Watson. Jim is rational about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without provoking the fury of those who could turn him in. Regardless of the restrictions and constant fear Jim possesses he consistently acts as a gracious human being and a devoted friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only existent adult in the novel, and the only one who provides an encouraging, decent example for Huck to follow. The people that surround Huck who are supposed to be teaching him of morals, and not to fall into the down falls of society are the exact people who need to be taught the lessons of life by Jim. Jim conveys an honesty that makes the dissimilarity between him and the characters around him evident.

Living in the 1800's wasn't an easy task. There were many hardships that a person had to endure. In the novel, The Adventures of Huck Finn, the author Mark Twain portrays the adventure of a young boy. Huck, the young boy, goes on a journey with various dilemmas. The novel starts off in Missouri on the Mississippi River. Huck is taken from his guardians by his father and then decides to runaway from him. On his journey, he meets up with his former slave, Jim. While Huck and Jim are traveling down the Mississippi River, they meet a variety of people. Throughout the novel he takes on many different tasks which help shape his moral conscience. Taking on a new friend which society

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.

Huck was obviously more concerned with Jim’s safety and well-being than his own father, and perhaps this is because Jim is more of a father figure than his father ever was. Huck cares about Jim despite Jim’s ethnicity or background and it seems that Huck is learning what it means to be able to love someone. Chapter Twelve Response-

While reading this book, the thing I have spent the most time evaluating is Huck. I have thought about how Huck behaves, thinks and lives his life. From my time I evaluating Huck I have noticed he likes to spend his free time relaxing. He likes living free, with no cares in the world. Huck completely satisfied sitting alone under a tree smoking his pipe. I think Huck is going to continue living free, possibly by himself. Huck's knowledge is defiantly strong enough to keep him alive, along with his survival capabilities as far as finding food and shelter goes. When the novel first started Huck did not seem very happy, however when he took to his first adventure escaping Pap, his spirits lifted. From this point on Huck was happy for the most

Jim is very happy to see Huck again, even calling him affectionate names like a father would do to their child. Later on in the novel Jim is accepting of Tom’s extravagant plans to break him out of where he being held at Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally’s home. He does so because he cares about Huckleberry like his own child, and parents often go along with their children’s whims to ensure they are happy. Secondly, Jim protects Huck from what might harm him, either mentally or physically. When they first see the house that is floating down the river, Jim goes into the house first to make sure it is safe.

This is another revelation for Huck. He realizes the cruelty of humans toward each other, especially humans of different races. There is hatred between them, and this leads to cruelty from one to the

In the beginning of the novel Huck is adopted by a widowed woman who attempts to help him rejoin society and live a “decent” life. Many people question if this was the right thing to do or not, they consider it a harsh judgement. Telling a boy who has known no other lifestyle that his way of living is wrong, then forcing him into something completely different can be overwhelming. This could also affect his way of thinking, telling him he has been wrong his entire life could lead him to assume that he needs the opinions of others in order to make a rational decision. It does not take long for Huck’s confusion to set in, this inherently drives the story forward as Huck begins to develop mentally and must make choices that will drastically change his life and the plot of the

Huck is a child who raises himself therefore he relies on his own instinct to get him through life. Although many try and civilize Huck, he chooses to rebel not knowing that his own instincts are more moral than societies. Huck’s role in the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is an innocent child which illustrates how society constraints the individual from thinking for themselves in the civilized world. Society and Huck’s point of view on slavery, Huck’s point of view on civilization, and Huck’s relationship with his father depict the effects of a constraining society.

Huck is used as the narrator of the novel Huckleberry Finn to show that family can be a curse and a blessing, and Twain shows this through Huck’s innocence. Huck had a mother who died early and an abusive father that ran out on him, but he found his own family with miss Watson and the widow. (add direct

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates three overall father figures for the main character Huck. Each one of the father figures offers a lesson different from the others by the way each treats him and by what they offer Huck throughout the story. The three father figures are Judge Thatcher, Pap Finn, and Jim the run-away slave. Twain also creates these father figures in a way that is relatable and relevant to modern day father figures or parents.

Huck Finn’s personal definition of family changes throughout the book as he encounters relationships with the other characters. Growing up, Huck did not have a normal home life. His dad was a drunk, his mother was dead, and he was the “bad” kid in the neighborhood that the other parents resented. Throughout the story, Huck spent time with a number of different “families”; some related by blood and others just a group of random individuals who lived and interacted in proximity of each other. Each of these had something different to offer and to each belonged a different backstory.

They have a generation long feud with the Shepherdsons. The two families do not even know why the feud started, but they continue to kill each other for some unknown reason. Huck sees this brutality and realizes that even the most sophisticated and dignified families are not perfect. Huck sees his friend killed and decides he does not want to stay here any more and travels down the river with Jim where the eventually comes to the Wilkes

In order for Huck to challenge any of the values and assumptions of the time he must first be acquainted with them.  And he is not only intimately acquainted with the values of his society but he holds many of its beliefs himself.  But Huck longs for freedom away

Widow Douglas took him in, she grows fond of him and shows many emotions towards Huck, “… She cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never meant no harm by it” (Twain, Chapter 1) She cares for him like if he was her own son, she never means to harm him. Pap also teaches him a few life lessons, like a father should but Huck doesn’t spend much time with him because he is treated badly. Family isn’t who you are entitled to, it’s who cares for you and loves you.