Huckleberry Finn Nature Vs Nurture Analysis

Nature versus Nurture has been a constant debate for centuries. In life, one must learn to make their own decisions and lifestyle choices. Throughout Mark Twain’s satirical novel, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, four main events serve as a paradigm for the central theme of the conflict between one’s upbringing and one’s own conscience.
Towards the beginning of Huck’s journey, he fakes his death and leaves his hometown. Huck has grown up with his father abusing him and has reached his last straw when his father attempts to kill him; he knows he has to leave before the unthinkable happens. "He said he would show who was Huck Finn 's boss. So he... took me up the river about three miles, in a skiff, and crossed over to the Illinois shore where it was woody and there warn 't no houses… where the timber was so thick you couldn 't find it if you didn 't know where it was,” (Twain 18). Huck explains how desperate his father was to keep Huck completely under his grasp. He knows his fatherś only motivation for having him around is the money Huck had recently gained. Despite the fact that Huck has not been with his father for a portion of his life, Pap has undoubtedly left his mark on Huck. Much to Huckś dismay, he has been placed into the care of the Widow Douglas, a woman with strict standards and high morals. ¨Pretty …show more content…
Living with Pap and being close friends with Tom, Huck is surrounded with self centered, negative influences who prove to be negative examples in his life and create some difficulties for Huck when making decisions. However Miss Watson, the Widow Douglas, and Jim serve as positive role models and mold Huck’s mind while he continues on his journey. Despite the negativity and hardships Huck had to face, his good moral standards and positive influences truly outshine those that are