How Does Huck View Jim As A Father Figure In Huckleberry Finn

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel that was written in 1883. Some critics say all American Literature comes from this book. Other critics refer to this book as racist and interpret the characters in other ways than the author's intention. This novel takes place during the 1880’s in St. Petersburg, Missouri. Huck and Jim spend a lot of their time on the Mississippi River. Throughout the book, Huck, who fakes his own death in order to escape from his drunk father, and Jim, a runaway slave, float down the river together. Along the way they must lie to people in order for neither of them to get caught. Huck and Jim create a special type of relationship. One frequently asked question about the book is how does Huck view Jim? Does Huck view Jim as a father figure, slave, or friend? Or does he view him as all three? The answer is all three. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck views Jim as a father figure, slave, and friend. The first way Huck views Jim is as a father figure and this is shown in many ways. These ways are presented when Huck is thinking while writing a letter to Jim’s owner. Some of the things Huck mentions are: “I’d see him standing my watch on top of his’n, stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog… …show more content…

We know that Huck views Jim as a slave because he was going to send a letter to Mrs. Watson, Jim’s owner. In this letter, Huck was going to tell her where Jim was so she could take him back. In this document, Huck says: “I was trying to make my mouth say I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write to that nigger’s owner and tell where he was; but deep down in me I knew it was a lie-and He knowed it.” (Document E) This quote proves that Huck saw Jim as a slave because he wanted Jim to go back into slavery. Although he didn’t, if Huck were to send this letter, Jim would be caught and sold by Mrs.