I believe this to be a fair comment. The real hero of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is Jim. Mark Twain himself said that the real hero was Jim, but if he named the novel after a "negro slave" not many people who be interested in the novel. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim is considered "fatherly" towards Huck. Since Huck's real father wasn't so great himself as well as the death of him makes Huck to come to the conclusion that he has no family. Jim loves Huck and forgives him when he is no so kind to him, and Jim protects Huck throughout their adventure or journey. In the beginning of Chapter nine a series of events had led up to Jim protecting Huck during the floating house scene. Jim sees Huck as the only "white
