Why Is A Minor Character Important In Huck Finn

One of the ways Twain exposes the folly of the negative attitudes toward blacks is through describing the whites' cruel and pointless acts of hatred directed toward Jim. The least severe of the cruel acts toward Jim is that whites often ridicule him. Another dehumanizing act is when Jim is made to hide his face in the daytime. The most foolish and ignorant idea of the whites, however, is when Silas Phelps locked up Jim. Another demonstration of the whites' folly is when Pap, Huck's father, violently objects to the granting of suffrage to a black man. Pap does not take into consideration that this man is an educated professor; he believes that he is superior to this black man simply because of the color of his skin. In actuality, however, Pap is an uneducated drunk. This adds to the irony of the white's actions.

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.

For quite some time, Huck’s father disappeared from town only to arrive later when he heard that his son had acquired a small fortune. He then threatens to beat Huck “down a peg” so that he would remind him of his status in the family only hoping to get the fortune for his booze. Things only get worse when Pa learns that Huck has become the first member of the family to learn to read, and consequently takes him away from town down the river into a small cabin. Cleverly, Pa doesn’t want to abandon Huck just yet for he continuously threatens the Father about the fortune he has hidden until Huck finally fakes his own death. Pa would be a fine example of a specimen who was unworthy of his breath by the way he treated Huck.

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

T.S. Elliot said, "Huck is alone: there is no more solitary figure in fiction. The fact that he has a father only emphasizes its loneliness; and he views his father with a terrifying detachment" (329). Most parents like to see their children excel in life and become productive members of society, but Pap is thinking only about himself. Instead of wishing the best for his son, he is angry because he is becoming a better person than his father. This man would be an awful influence on any child, and should be kept away from Huck.

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

as well. He make Jim as a foil to Pap, Huck’s true father in that he treats him better than his

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.

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.

Much of the book focuses on the white people, which seems to make them the protagonists and therefore the “good” people but Twain actually makes the white people “bad” overall.  In general, the white people of the story show many bad qualities including being prejudice and selfish.  Right from the beginning of the story, one of the worst characters is introduced as Huckleberry’s dad, Pap.  Pap is both egotistic and prejudice.  He only comes to find Huck because he wants to take all of  Huck's’ money for himself.  Although Pap is not able to take all of Huck's money, he does force Huck to give him small increments of money from time to time.  Once Pap is kicked out of the town, he kidnaps Huck to impose what he thinks is the correct lifestyle on Huck.  Not only is Pap a bad influence because he is always drinking or drunk, but he also

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:

This could be connected to the point where Jim tosses a rag over Pap’s dead body. This rag that Jim places on Pap’s face is a symbol for the exchange of fatherhood over Huck. Jim believed that Huck could be a chance to redeem himself. By covering up the old father and being the only grown man at the moment of transition, Jim shifts into a state of fatherhood. Jim first displays his fatherly archetype when Jim and Huck come upon the tilted house with the body inside. Twain writes, “It’s a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked too. He’s been shot in de back. I reck’n he’s been dead two or three days. Come in, Huck, but doan look at his face - it’s too gashly” (Twain 56). After Jim discovers the dead body, Jim allows Huck to come into the house, but he warns Huck to not look at the body. Huck states that he doesn’t need any warning because he is already disturbed at the dead man, but the next day, Huck wants to talk about the man’s mysterious death. This is unusual for Huck to be so interested in, as he stated earlier that he “[doesn’t] take no stock in dead people” (Twain 2). At this point, Twain uses Huck’s intuition in the unusual death to point out the large significance in it, which Jim also picks up on. When Jim sees paps “gashly” face, he discerns the fact that there is an open patriarchal position for Huck.

One theme in Huck Finn that is still present in today’s society is “Nature offers an escape from society’s restrictions and evils”. In the book, Huck escapes living with Pap to live on Jackson’s Island. Pap is Huck’s father, a dangerous alcoholic who hurts him. Huck sleeps

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