Jim a true father

Jim a true father

Love is Blind
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Jim, the runaway slave, portrays the characteristics of a “true father.” Huck is the very portrait of a codependent child. He has a strong outside appearance for the world, but inside is the heart of a lost child. Jim, having lost his own children, is drawn to that need. Jim gives Huck the fatherly compassion, loyalty, and knowledge that Huck needs to become a man.
Jim reveals his fatherly instincts of protecting Huck when they encounter a dead body upon a washed up house on the river. Jim shields Huck from the shock of seeing the dead man, “doan’ look at his face-it’s too gashly” (1168). The reader later learns that the dead man was Huck’s Pap. This act of compassion from Jim brings light to the very depth of his feelings and understanding for Huck. Jim knows Huck is terrified of his pap, yet he also understands that there is a deep need within Huck for a father. Jim protects Huck from grief and possibly guilt from the knowledge that his pap is dead. Huck later wants to discuss the dead man and Jim refuses saying, “it would fetch bad luck” (1169). Jim uses his superstitions as an excuse to protect Huck’s feelings. This showing of compassion resembles that of a father for a son. Huck accepts Jim’s reasoning without question, further revealing his respect for Jim and his knowledge.
Along the river, they encounter a heavy fog that separates them. Jim is relieved upon seeing Huck the next morning. Huck, not yet knowing the depth of Jim’s feelings for him, plays a joke upon Jim. Jim has the same emotional reaction towards the possible loss of Huck as a father would for a child. His lack of concern for his own life and the fact that he is a runaway slave seem to be a contradiction of terms. Jim displays his profound loyalty and concern for Huck when he states, “my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er me en de raf’”...