Huck Finn 1

      In the first third of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is already very evident to the reader that Huck does not feel comfortable anywhere in his town.  He is only 13 or 14 years old, certainly not old enough by most standards to take care of himself, but he seems to know what is best for himself.  He rejects the idea of religion, school and all of the "civilizing" that Miss Watson attempts to put him through, but at the same time, he resents his dishonest, reckless drunkard of a father who is the antithesis of civilized life.

      Although he does not like the Miss Watson's attempts to civilize him, Huck at least gives them a shot.  After Miss Watson teaches him about praying to God, he admits that he does not quite understand it and that maybe it is not something for him, but at least it is something that is different from his father.  He also does not like school at all, but it is after Pap returns to town and criticizes Huck for thinking he is better than the rest of his family that he tries even harder in school.  This shows that, although he may not like Miss Watson's influences, he still prefers them to anything his father has to offer.

      There is a lot of religious symbolism in this book.  For example, Miss Watson and Pap are respectively like an angel and a demon.  While Miss Watson encourages Huck to go to school and educate himself while establishing a relationship with God, Pap shows him that the way to deal with life's problems is to drink them away.  However, unlike in a more traditional example of an angel and a devil, Huck does not feel that either lifestyle is right for him, nor does he think that Tom Sawyer's whimsical, juvenile creativity is the proper way, so he decides that he needs to find his own path.

      I wonder what the significance of Jim's "talking" furball will turn out to be.