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Huckleberry Finn Father Figure Essay

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The definition of a father figure according to Merriam-Webster is “A person often of particular power or influence who serves as an emotional substitute for a father.” Almost everybody has a father or somebody that they look up to and go to when they need him. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim, the slave of Miss Watson, and Pap, Huck’s biological father, both played that part in Huck’s life at some point. They had many differences from each other, but they also had some similarities. First of all, Jim and Pap had some similarities rather than the fact that they were both a father figure in Huck’s life. First of all, both of these men would be considered outcasts or rejected. Jim is black and is a slave so obviously he is not very respected and before anybody can even get to know him, they stereotype him. He was also uneducated and gullible. In the book, Jim was very scared because he thought that he lost Huck in the fog on the river and Huck pulled a prank on him saying that there was never any fog and Huck was always by him and it never happened and Jim bought it. Pap on the other hand was considered an outcast because of the lack of education he had, and how he always got drunk. He always beat his son and never had anything going for him. He was also very racist and always complained about how black people should not be able to vote. A bigger similarity is that Huck was not safe with either one when he was with them. Jim would never hurt him, but since he was a runaway slave, Huck would get in a lot of trouble if he got caught with Jim. A quote from Jim about …show more content…
Jim was a better father figure in Huck’s life then Pap would ever be. He respected Huck and was always caring for him and was a great father figure. Almost all people have a father figure in their lives whether it’s their real father or somebody they look up to as a father. Just like Huck had a father, Jim was more of a father figure in his

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