Literary Criticism Of Huckleberry Finn

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Huck Finn Literary Analysis A father is someone a child can lean on, look up to, and even strive to be and in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck himself is seen as a boy who doesn’t have much of a fatherly influence on him. Growing up under the Widow Douglas 's care, Huck had to be a father to his own self and learn several skills a father might teach his son. During the course of the novel, however, Huck meets a variety of men who take on the role of “father” and they influence him greatly. Throughout Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, , Huck went on a journey to escape his old life and during the process, Huck encountered several men who not only influenced the way the boy acted in a situation, but they played a fatherly figure …show more content…

These two men are con men by nature and they are similar to pap in the ways that they are poor role models for Huck and show him many ways on how not to live his life. The two men overall indirectly teach Huck that “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (Twain 232). Through the many plans that the two men play out throughout the novel, they demonstrate to Huck that if one breaks a law for self-benefit, then they are bound to get caught. The duke and the king 's punishment of tarring and feathering scared Huck straight and made him realize that he must always stay true to himself and never be swayed to break the rules. The two con men also taught Huck that not all men are good and some will even take advantage of you. The men met Huck while he was canoeing towards land to get food and the men acted distressed and lied in order to gain the naive boys trust and to let them join them on their raft. Huck described the situation by saying, “they was pretty close to me then, and sung out and begged me to save their lives” (121). The whole situation seemed strange to Huck, however, the two men’s sly ways convinced Huck the two men were innocent when really they were taking the boys adolescence to their advantage and convincing him to assist them in their plans to make money. Overall, the duke and the king revealed to Huck after …show more content…

Jim is an extraordinary father figure towards Huck because he believes Huck is his responsibility and must do whatever it takes to keep him safe. When the two first meet, Jim’s main goal was to get to Cairo and be free from slavery, but after the two spent countless hours together floating down the river, Jim begins to develop a sense of endearment toward Huck and that he must treat him as one of his own. By using words like “honey” (Twain 113), one can see that Jim has grown affectionate towards Huck and would do anything to protect his well-being. The two gentlemen grow such a strong relationship that Jim forgets about his freedom just to ensure that Huck achieves his goal of finding a new home and escaping Pap. Jim also acts as a father towards Huck by providing Huck with a sense of security and protecting him from many difficulties. For example, in the beginning of the novel, Jim and Huck went exploring on the island where they found each other and on that island they found a cabin and inside they discovered a dead man and Jim told Huck, “He’s ben shot in de back. I reck’n he’s been dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan’ look at his face-it’s too gashly” (Twain 50). The fact that Jim was willing to look at the gashed face of the dead man showed his bravery and willingness to do whatever it takes to protect Huck. Jim protects Huck throughout the twos adventures and in

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