Essay On Huckleberry Finn Is A Bad Father Figure

Twain creates two father figures in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn who are opposites of each other. The two father figures in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are Jim and Pap. It can be concluded that Twain was trying to prove Jim was a much better father figure than Pap. Although both characters do have some similarities, they are very different. Jim and Pap may share the same religious beliefs, but they do not share the same morals, the same traits, and the same thoughts which set them apart. Jim and Pap have very different morals, and they differentiate in how they think and look at the world. Jim is the Yin, while Pap is the Yang. Jim represents the good force, and Pap represents the bad force. We see Jim as a good father figure

To society, both were looked upon as “bad” father figures. According to the society and their rules, Jim was a bad father figure because of his skin color which is completely absurd; however, Pap was a bad father figure to society not because of his skin color, but because of his morals and his behavior towards Huck. Believing Pap was a bad father figure was at least logical compared to believing Jim was a bad father figure. When Pap comes back at the beginning, he sees Huck reading and he says, “You've put on considerable many frills since I been away… You're educated, too, they say—can read and write. You think you're better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't?” Here, Pap proves society right. He is undoubtedly a bad father figure, and there is absolutely no doubt in that. Because Huck can read and write, Pap becomes jealous of Huck. Instead of being proud, Pap becomes jealous of Huck. This is not something that can be found in good fathers. Now when Jim see Pap’s dead body, he hides it from Huck. He tells Huck, “It's a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He's ben shot in de back. I reck'n he's ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face—it's too gashly.” Jim hides the body from Huck because he doesn’t want Huck to find out that his father had died. No matter how Pap may have been, Huck would have still been very upset over the fact that his father had died, so to protect Huck, Jim doesn’t let him see the dead body. This is something that can be in good fathers. Even though society considered both as bad father figures, they were wrong about Jim but right about Pap. Another similarity between Jim and Pap was their views in religion. Neither of them were religious; neither of them believed in any religion. Also both were very superstitious. Jim and Pap do share some similarities, but they have nothing to do with character or