Characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck: The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Huck is the son of the local drunk in Missouri. He’s forced to survive on his own, as he has no functional family, which makes him an outcast. Huck is thoughtful, intelligent, and educates himself through life rather than formal schooling. He rebels against his father and the hypocritical society around him. Huck’s story presents the harsh realities of life.

Tom Sawyer: Huck’s friend and the protagonist of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom comes from a respectable family. He is bright and well-learned but lacks Huck's moral maturity. Tom is impractical, and his romanticism often puts him and others, especially Jim, in danger. In contrast to Huck, who is grounded in realism, Tom represents idealism. Mark Twain uses this contrast to defend Huck’s practical intelligence over Tom’s romanticism.

Jim: Jim is one of Miss Watson’s slaves who runs away to avoid being separated from his family. Over their travels, Jim becomes Huck’s moral guide. Jim's friendship with Huck demonstrates to him that humanity transcends race, as two people from different races can form a genuine bond. At the time, it was forbidden for a white person to be friends with a black slave, making Jim's relationship with Huck a radical and important part of the story.

Widow Douglas and Miss Watson: Two wealthy sisters living together in St. Petersburg. Miss Watson represents the hypocritical religious and ethical values of society, while Widow Douglas is gentler and more patient with Huck. Both women are devout and want to educate Huck according to Christian values, but Huck resists their teachings.

Pap Finn: Huck’s father, who represents the failures of the white society and family structure. A drunken and irresponsible man, Pap cannot educate his son and fails to fulfill his role as a father. While he is white, his moral flaws represent broader issues within white society in the novel.

The Duke and the Dauphin: A pair of con men who travel with Huck and Jim. Their fraudulent activities expose societal hypocrisy, as they deceive people by pretending to be aristocrats. Their actions highlight the presence of impostors in society.

Judge Thatcher: The local judge who shares responsibility for Huck’s well-being with Widow Douglas. He also safeguards Huck’s money.

The Grangerfords: A family that takes Huck in after a steamboat accident separates him from Jim. The Grangerfords are kind-hearted but are locked in a long-standing feud with the Shepherdsons. Twain uses their rivalry to satirize romanticized notions of family honor, ultimately showing how the feud leads to tragedy.

The Wilks Family: During their travels, the duke and dauphin encounter the death of Peter Wilks, a man who left behind a large estate. The con men pretend to be Wilks’s brothers from England, hoping to claim the inheritance.

Silas and Sally Phelps: Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle, whom Huck meets while searching for Jim after the con men sell him. They are the unknowing victims of Tom and Huck’s schemes to free Jim.

Aunt Polly: Tom’s aunt and guardian, and Sally Phelps’s sister. She appears at the end of the novel, where she identifies Huck and Tom after they have switched identities in a series of ruses.