A Family Bond The concept of family appears consistently throughout a novel written by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, guiding the development of Huckleberry Finn. Huck’s relation and interaction with different characters in the story, such as his father and Jim, shape him into a better individual, though some interactions may not be favorable. Huck is surrounded by various people who care about him, though he has never felt that his biological father, Pap, cared for him at all. He is an incompetent man, and is nowhere near the definition of a good role model for Huck. Despite this, his bad decisions and unpleasant aura help show Huck what is right and wrong. In spite of Pap being an abusive father, it is necessary to the story, …show more content…
As Huck continues his journey with Jim, he sees him as a friend, and is no longer concerned about the consequences of harboring a runaway slave. Huck has moments of conflict throughout the story where he feels that turning Jim in would be the right thing to do, but each time he decides that the right thing is to keep him hidden. This creates trust between Huck and Jim, as Jim is well-aware how easy it is for Huck to expose him. This profound trust is a major component of not just Huck and Jim’s relationship, but of any relationship. When Huck and Jim are first beginning their journey, they quickly realize that they work better together. They each contribute to their situation by providing different knowledge and materials. We see this on the island as Jim says, "No! W 'y, what has you lived on? But you got a gun. Oh, yes, you got a gun. Dat 's good. Now you kill sumfn en I 'll make up de fire" (Twain 42). They both have something to help one another, and knowing that they help each other, keeps them together. Huck helps Jim in many ways, and vice versa; another example of this is when Huck tells the sailors that are passing them that Jim, who is not visible, is his white, smallpox infected father. He does this to protect Jim, and, in addition,