“If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way” (137).
It has been very clear throughout the novel that Pap has demonstrated false characteristics of what a man should be like. Pap is abusive, constantly intoxicated, and has no problem in taking food out of his son’s mouth to feed himself. Huck has two major influences in his life: Pap, and the Widow and Miss Watson combined. Huck usually tends to lean towards Pap’s influence, most likely because they have lived similar lifestyles and come from the same sort of upbringing. Huck decides to take into consideration the lesson that his Pap had taught him when realizing that the “duke” and “king” are not who they say they are. By allowing the “duke” and “king” to believe that Huck believes them, Huck is allowing them to believe that he is stupid and ignorant, hence there wouldn’t be any suspicions of Huck trying to do anything to trick them.
“They asked us considerable many questions; wanted to know what we covered up the raft that way for, and laid by in the day-time instead of running- was Jim a runaway nigger?” (138).
In previous chapters we see that Huck was faced with a difficult decision to make. Huck decided to go the “wrong” route in his eyes by covering up for Jim, and we see that covering up for Jim has become a sort of habit. Huck made up a story about Jim having small pox previously and now is making up another story about how his father and younger brother died after the raft fell over. Jim is clearly only lying to protect Jim and also to be a good friend to him, but I believe that all this lying that he is doing is going to lead to more serious lies that will get him in trouble.
Galoot
–noun Slang.
an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person.
“Next you’d see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping” (130).
Contrite
–adjective
1. caused by or showing sincere remorse.
"come with contrite heart!" (143).
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