Examples Of Foils In Huckleberry Finn

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Scar and Mufasa. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The long list continues with many divergent foils in literature. Foils are two characters or things in a story that contradict various aspects of society in order to create a deeper meaning in the text. For example, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the story takes place in the 1840’s during the pre-Civil War era and a young boy named Huck travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave, Jim, in order to gain their true desire-freedom. They meet many distinctive characters who are foils who help Huck’s character mature. Throughout Huck and Jim’s journey for exemption, their encounters with numerous foils expose the diverse flaws in humanity. …show more content…
For example, Pap beats Huck because he is angered by his son attending school and he becoming civilized, thanks to Widow Douglas. He then kidnaps Huck and the two stay in a secluded log cabin in the woods for several weeks. Pap, who never recovered from rehabilitation, gets drunk to the point where he threatens the life of his own son. Huck then expresses, “By and by, he rolled out and jumped up to his feet looking wild, and he see me and went for me. He chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me… I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed such a screechy laugh, and roared and cussed, and kept on chasing me up” (Twain 37). Describing Pap as “wild” indicates that because he is drunk, Pap is becoming more animalistic than human, temporarily losing his human nature. Pap calling Huck “the Angel of Death” and saying “he would kill me,” emphasizes that even though Huck is Pap’s son, his moral conscience is blinded by his intoxication. “Such a screechy laugh,” entails that Pap’s laughter while chasing Huck is a distinctive type of laugh that scares Huck and further proves Also, by Huck pleading “begged,” implies that he is truly scared of his father’s potential to hurt him. Lasty, “such a screechy laugh,” entails that Pap’s laughter while chasing Huck is a distinctive type of laugh that again scares Huck and further proves Pap is a uncaring father who would rather be drunk than a responsible parent. Contradicting Pap’s flaws, Jim’s level of care for Huck proves he is a more suitable father than Pap will ever be. For instance, while on the river, Huck and Jim are on two different floats after the Walter Scott sinks, Huck in the canoe and Jim on the raft. Huck and Jim are separated in the fog for an entire night. When they are

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