Jim as Huck's True Father
In desperate need of a father figure, Huck, the title character in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, connects with a runaway slave named Jim. A father is someone who thinks of the child before himself and loves unconditionally. Huck's biological father, Pap, does not possess these qualities, but his friend, Jim does. Even though their meeting is a coincidence, Jim and Huck develop a type of relationship, while on their journey to freedom, that is uncommon during the period of the 1840's.It is natural for a father to love his son and a son to love his father; but in the case of Huck and Pap, there is no love. Pap is a user. He sees Huck as his possession and believes that he can do anything he wants with him. At one point Pap says, "Looky here- mind how you talk to me; I'm a-standing about all I can stand . . . I've been in town nearly two days, and I hain't heard nothing but about you bein' rich . . . That's why I come. You git me that money tomorrow- I want it." Pap's only desire is to get his hands on Huck's money. There is never any compassion heard in Pap's voice, only a
nger. This anger is a result of Pap's alcoholism, which has a direct affect on Huck. When Pap drinks, he either physically or verbally abuses Huck. As a result of this household environment, Huck realizes he needs to escape, not just from his father, but from "sivilization". The relationship that exists between Jim and Huck is much like that of a father and son. Since Jim and Huck are both without family while on the raft, they subconsciously fill that void for each other. There is one instance, the morning after the fog, in which the reader sees how much Jim cares for Huck. " . . .my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no mo' what become er me en de raf'. En when I wake up en fine you back ag'in, all safe and soun', de tears come . . . I's so thankful." The love that Jim shows for Huck throughout the novel is tremendous. Before the two are able to mutually care for one another, Huck must apologize for playing a trick on Jim. Once he apologizes, Huck now accepts Jim as a human. The reader recognizes that Jim exemplifies parental traits when they were at the house of death. Jim covers the face
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Approximate Word count = 764
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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