Can a man you have only known for a few weeks of your life be a better father to you than your real dad? In Mark Twain 's’ novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn it seems so. Huck runs away from his home at Widow Douglas’ and his drunken, abusive father in order to travel down the Mississippi river on a raft with a slave named Jim who ran away from Widow Douglas’ house. During the trip, Jim turns out to be the father figure that Huck never had. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim serves as a father figure to Huck because of Hecks lack of a good father, Hucks perception of Jim, and the relationship they Huck and Jim have.
Huck lacks a father figure in his life. Hucks biological father, who he calls Pap, is a drunk and abuses Huck physically and mentally. Pap is the opposite of a positive role model. Pap visits Huck at Widow Douglas’ house with the original intentions of stealing money from him. After Pap hears about Huck’s schooling, he advises him to drop out. Pap feels that Huck thinks he is better than his …show more content…
Jim notices the very obvious wreckage around him and knows that there was indeed a big storm that separated them. Jim realizes that Huck thought he was ignorant enough to be tricked into believing it was all a dream and this really hurts him. This is when Huck first feels guilty for tricking Jim and every moment after this Huck has a new respect for Jim due to the realization that Jim is a fully competent human being whose feelings he hurt. Evans describes Jim in this situation as “a figure who seems far more worthy of our respect than anyone else in the novel” as he pushed aside all assumptions Huck had about him(Evans). This gives Huck a new view of Jim and allows him to begin learning from him rather than judging him for his skin color. The relationship created is the very basis of what a father figure
Huck lacks a father figure in his life. Hucks biological father, who he calls Pap, is a drunk and abuses Huck physically and mentally. Pap is the opposite of a positive role model. Pap visits Huck at Widow Douglas’ house with the original intentions of stealing money from him. After Pap hears about Huck’s schooling, he advises him to drop out. Pap feels that Huck thinks he is better than his …show more content…
Jim notices the very obvious wreckage around him and knows that there was indeed a big storm that separated them. Jim realizes that Huck thought he was ignorant enough to be tricked into believing it was all a dream and this really hurts him. This is when Huck first feels guilty for tricking Jim and every moment after this Huck has a new respect for Jim due to the realization that Jim is a fully competent human being whose feelings he hurt. Evans describes Jim in this situation as “a figure who seems far more worthy of our respect than anyone else in the novel” as he pushed aside all assumptions Huck had about him(Evans). This gives Huck a new view of Jim and allows him to begin learning from him rather than judging him for his skin color. The relationship created is the very basis of what a father figure