Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In the novel so far, Huck has created his own independence from the book and Author as a whole. He refers to his writer as "Mr. Mark Twain", and I feel that the authors voice is completely lost here. He begins to exist on the same level that Mark Twain does.

Besides being his own person, I like how Huck ties in the Tom Sawyer stories into his own, and they go off to what seemed to be the brewing plot of the story, "Tom Sawyers Gang." That was until all the boys in the gang quit in the next chapter. I am excited, though, for what is in store for Huck and Tom, since they are complete opposites, but share some qualities that make them friends.

I'm not sure if I quite understand Mark Twain's installation of religion and sort of mysticism into the story; marks warding off the devil, multiple gods, two angels with his father, and hairballs that work as crystal balls. I think maybe my understanding of this insertion of religion will become clearer throughout my reading of the book.

One seemingly recurring problem in the book, so far, is Pap. He repeatedly pops in and out of Huck's life, and when he does show, its not good news. Mark Twain, nor Huck, provide any information about Pap, leaving him in more of a symbolic position. He is pure evil, racist, and violent creating the stereotypical white man; especially since his skin is significantly white, so white it makes Huck cringe,. The new judge allows Pap to keep custody of his son, even though his records show disregard and abuse. This poor decision by someone in such a high position of power makes me wonder what morality the society around Huck has. In addition, it leads me to believe that this novel will be about Huck's rebellion against this biased society that seems to lack logic and structure.