Huckleberry Finn Handout: Huck’s father
  How is Huck Finn shaped by his father?

Huck’s life, though sometimes viewed as happy-go-lucky, has been by objective standards a nightmare. He has been raised in complete poverty by a worthless and shiftless father who is rarely present and often drunk, who sometimes treats Huck cruelly and has failed to have him educated, and who demonstrates a wide range of bad personality traits. . .It is as if the harsh realities of his life have forced Huck to grow up fast, and to focus exclusively on the practical concerns of the world immediately around him. Forced by necessity to live by his wits, Huck is constantly striving to work with the actual circumstances at hand. . .

Huck has no family, with the exception of his terrible father, and is quite alone in the world; Tom offers a respite from Huck’s aloneness. . .

Huck’s way is to ‘go along to get along,’ and he has no qualms about deferring to others if this is what is necessary to keep the peace. Resistance is not his way. He has learned this behavior through his need to deal with the capricious violence of his father; it has made Huck into a sheep.

Realism, Romanticism and Politics in Mark Twain. Contributors: William F. Byrne - author. Journal Title: Humanitas. Volume: 12. Issue: 1. Publication Year: 1999. Page Number: 16. COPYRIGHT 1999 National Humanities Institute; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group