Huckleberry Finn Relationships

Within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, characters often come to emotional crossroads, where they have to make a decision that will affect the outcome of their story. Throughout the book, bonds between characters strengthen and break. However, one bond that stays constant all through the novel is Huck and Jim’s. Their relationship transformed over the course of their journey, always staying strong enough to establish the care they have for one another. Huck’s eventual realization that he doesn’t only want Jim - he needs him - comes in one specific part of the book. One page 214, Huck is forced to choose between two things; sending a letter that contains the whereabouts of Jim to Ms. Watson, or staying with Jim. Huck struggles with the decision, showing his inner turmoil when he thinks, “I’d get to decide, forever, betwixt two things.” Huck eventually decides to rip up the letter, because he realizes he can’t get what he has with Jim with anybody else, and vice versa. They are all each other has, and if they don’t stick together, they’re alone once again. The relationship may have started with a mutual need for companionship, but it has turned into so much more, without Huck realizing it. This need for a friend is normal for a child, but the deep connection that the two share shows Huck’s maturation throughout the book.