Huckleberry Finn Analysis (First Couple of Chapters)

A little bit of dirt never hurt anyone. A major theme that stuck out to me in the reading was the tension of the relationship between Huckleberry Finn and his father. As stated in the book, his father seems to always be drunk and is also not very educated, and he has been out of the picture for most of Huck’s life. Huck is afraid of his dad, not only because he beats his, but also because since he has not really been around, he does not exactly know him very well. He does not actually know his father. There is tension between Huck and his father because when Huck finds him I his room, he brings up how Huckleberry is getting an education, and goes on about how wrong it is and tells him that he is a bad son. There is no reason that Huck should not receive a proper education. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with Huck being educated. It is actually better that he has an education so that he can be successful when he is older. He is a young boy and is at the age to where he needs to start figuring out what he wants to do with his life, rather than do basically nothing with his life like his father. “The widow she cried over me…and the things go better.” The third paragraph on the first page is Huck talking about his relationship with his guardian, Widow Douglas. She is important in his life because she takes care of Huck; it seems as though she is trying to protect him from his father. She knows that if his father gets custody of him, then he will no longer be under her care. She provides him with everything that he needs; she provides him with clothes, shelter, and an education. Huck knows that she is trying to do the best for him, but he really yearns for the ability to go back to his normal life and do what he wants to do: explore with Tom Sawyer and wear his own dirty clothes…be a little boy. Huck’s father, however, from lack of education, thinks that it is not good that he is receiving an education. He is afraid that his son will become smarter than him. When Huck’s father decides to take him back to the cabin in the woods, Huck seems to be alright with it. After a while, Huck realizes that he really does want to go home to Widow Douglas. I think that when Huck is with his father, he feels that he is beginning to form an actual relationship with him. Huck’s father evidently only seems to suddenly care about Huck because he hears that he has a lot of money, which he wants to use to buy alcohol. This is not a good way to start a relationship with his son because Huck technically works hard for the money because he and Tom Sawyer go on “adventures,” and his father has been “missing in action” for the majority of Huck’s life. He also just wants to be independent. He likes to be in the woods, he likes taking a break from his schoolwork, and he likes to be able to do what he wants…and since his father practically does not care, he can do a lot when he is with his father, while at the same time (his father being very controlling), he has very little to no freedom. When Huckleberry decides to run away from his father’s cabin in the woods, he makes it look like someone has taken and killed him. I think that he did this because after all that his father does to him the night before, he finally realizes that he is not safe. When Huck realizes that his father is out with everyone looking for him, he starts to think that maybe he actually does care. Maybe be does love Huck… His father was out looking for him because he seems to be going through a “momentary” change of heart. Huck’s father cares for him because he is his son. I think that he cares because he would not make such a big deal about him receiving an education.