Throughout the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck's awareness of what is morally right or wrong is put to the test numerous times. Society always seems to make the wrong decision appealing, but in most situations Huck sees through these disguises and follows his heart in what he believes is the right thing to do. Huckleberry Finn faces three decisions in which he uses his intuition to decide for himself what is right and what is not: in the first decision Huck helps Sophia Grangerford, the second Huck decides not to report Jim as a runaway slave, and the third Huck opts to help the poor Wilkes girls. .
In the first decision, during a storm when Huck and Jim are separated, Huck swims onto shore to set out for help and is met by the Grangerford's dogs. The family demands to know who he is and when they learn that he is not a Shepherdson, the family is very kind and welcoming. Huck enjoys the company and makes good friends with Buck, a member of the Grangerford family who is around his age. From Buck he learns that the Grangerford and Shepherdson families have a long-standing feud. One day, Miss Sophia Grangerford asks Huck to do her a favor and not tell anyone. Huck, entranced by Miss Sophia's beauty, agrees. He goes to the church and retrieves her Testament as she has asked him, and out fell a slip of paper that read "half-past two". He finds this to be odd but keeps his promise not to say anything. As a result of Huck not telling anyone of this situation, Miss Sophia is able to run off with Harney Shepherdson without family intervention. This enrages the Grangerfords, and they go out in search of the two. What results is a bloody battle and an end to the feud, with only one Grangerford still standing and that is Miss Sophia. Huck is very sorry that he made the wrong decision and was responsible for this disaster. "I was mighty down-hearted; so I made up my mind I wouldn't ever go anear that house again, because I reckoned I was to blame.