Open Prompt

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

          "We only do the things we do and give you advise about life because we care for you." This clichéd statement often quoted by parents, however may be true in the real world, is clearly not the case in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The conflict between father and son is cleverly presented in the novel by Twain in order to portray the apathy and instability of Pap leading to the development of Huck into a self-sufficient, responsible, and mature individual who alludes to the result of lack of familial ties contributing to his abnormal transition from childhood to adolescence.

          Raised by a respectable family, Huck is under the care of two women who put their best efforts at work in order to change Huck into a civilized member of society. Despite of their efforts, Huck is reluctant to change his self and assimilate into the ways of "normal" society, a rebellious quality often visible in young children. In my opinion, Huck's father, called "Pap" in the novel by Huck, has had a lasting influence on Huck by indirectly referring to a savage and free life as a dream come true, often overpowering Huck and forcing him to believe in and live with his ideals, in the process straining his relationship with his son. In the beginning of the novel, when Pap visits Huck in his room, he expresses anger and frustration at the news of Huck being educated and changed into a sophisticated individual, instilling great fear into Huck. Moreover, Pap points to the lack of need of education and outright denies Huck from attending school ever again. Huck, still vacillating between his obligations to the two women who have tried to raise him into a civilized young man and Pap, retaliates to Pap's constraints on his freedom. Further in the story, when Pap forcefully takes Huck to his run down little place near the Mississippi River, once again through his dependence on brute force and oppression, Huck is forced to give in to the demands of his father, forming an image of an insane and unstable parental figure. 

          Due to his strained relationship with his father, Huck decides to take the reins in his own hands and set himself free of his Pap. Upon feigning his death, Huck sails down the Mississippi River, alone on a journey to live by himself. The image of a brutal and overpowering parental figure stays permanently in the mind of Huck, allowing him to assume a more independent role in life by learning to live by himself without any obligation to others in the world. Through the rest of the novel, we see how Huck's relationship with Pap, leaving him with nothing but painful memories of beatings, changes his opinion of the world by allowing him to find no alternative to the efforts of the women to civilize him and Pap to suppress his freedom. Huck is now left with no other alternative than living alone by himself. The introduction of Jim in the story further reinforces the opposition of Huck to the presence of a parental figure in his life. Despite of Jim's older age, Huck does not look at him as a protective parental figure. Rather, Huck considers Jim to be his companion on his journey through the Mississippi River, which is demonstrated by Huck and Jim helping each other survive in the wild.

          Through the portrayal of Pap as an oppressive and abusive parental figure who limits Huck's freedom and utilizes him merely as the end receiver of his actions, Mark Twain alludes to the development of Huck into an independent, self-sufficient, and mature adolescent capable of making his own decisions. The strained father-son relationship acts as a starting point for defining Huck's character and lending him his skills of cautiousness and cognizance of his surroundings to ensure his own safety in the face of any external threat. 

Yash Pandya