Examples Of Pap As A Father Figure In Huckleberry Finn

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is clear to see that Twain wrote the novel with the characters Pap and Jim to be different father figures on Huckleberry Finn, but who is the true father figure? The two characters have a different role to Huck. Pap, Huck’s father by genetics, has abused Huck over the years. Jim, on the other hand, has helped and taken care of Huck when he needed it the most. The two have different qualities that affect Huck’s growth differently, giving them different influences on Huck as a father figure. As Huck begins to develop, he needs a central father figure to take care of him, as well as teach him how to be a mature adult. Pap is a character unlike all others in the novel. He is rude, mean, abusive, a drunkard, and can be seen as the villain of the story. Pap has not been there for most of Huck’s time, too. Their relationship is odd for a father and a son, and as Huck would tell the reader, “Pap he hadn't been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me; I didn't want to see him no more. He used to always whale me when he was sober and could get his hands on me; though I used to take to the woods most of the time when he was around.” The fact that Huckleberry did not feel safe to see his own father in the

One is a rude drunkard, while the other is a kind and misused human being. The compassion given towards Jim rivals the despair towards Pap. The biggest difference between Jim and Pap is how they treat Huck. Jim cares for Huck’s needs over his own, truly resembling a good father. Pap has no care for Huck, abusing Huck physically and mentally in ways that make Huck run away from only home he has. Pap does not even want Huck to be happy, and he starts taking Huck’s money for alcohol. In the end, Huck was relieved when Jim was freed, but was not one bit upset when he learned Pap died. A son should have cared for their father’s death, unless they were that