An adventure can teach someone something significant about themselves, other people, or the world in general. In Mark Twain's work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck has many learning experiences as he travels on his adventure down the Mississippi River. Huck is an individual at a tie between a set of social breakdowns. His family, the legal system, and the community have all failed to protect Huck and provide a set of beliefs and values that satisfy him. He has been burdened by Widow Douglas to be civilized. By representing the worst of white society, Huck's father, Pap, is not a role model for him whatsoever. Pap is illiterate, uneducated, violent, and profoundly racist. If Huck would have never escaped on his adventure down the Mississippi River with Jim, he probably would have never experienced such a dramatic change in moral development. Huck, a young man who has experienced and survived great obstacles in his young years, shapes his beliefs and morals when he undergoes a considerable change in both mind and heart with the help of his runaway, slave friend, Jim. The story beneath the story of this novel is that of Huck's moral development, and what he learns about race, slavery, Southern society, and morality. Through Huck's adventure, the morals he has been able to develop and learn through Jim's help relates to my adventure leaving home the first time for college. Jim's ability to influence Huck's moral development relates to how my father has been my educator, has taught me a deep sense of morality, and has prepared me to live on my own at college.
Huck and Jim have a friendship, which is transformed through time and trust, but always has the reminder that one is white and the other is black. This is a major influence on Huck's behavior towards Jim, but through the progression of the novel, Huck's attitude and respect towards Jim increases considerably after Huck self-evaluates himself and society.