Kenneth S. Lynn begins "Huck and Jim" with a description of Mark Twain's (who was at that time Samuel Clemens) reason for becoming an author. Lynn goes on to describe the Clemens household, the relationship between Twain and his father, and the rejection and loneliness felt by Twain growing up. Lynn goes on to give examples of how Twain's childhood influenced his writing and how it is reflected into it. Mark Twain's use of humor in his works is also introduced. Twain believed that the humorist was the moralist, with the weapon of laughter as his ability to liberate mankind from false ideals. Twain's use of humor to destroy was most noted by librarians, who banned his books as subversive. Lynn compares Twain to Joan of Arc in that both dreamed of purging society of its pettiness in order that it might become great.
             "Huck and Jim" then goes into an episode from Huckleberry Finn that was removed from the novel. The episode is a tall tale about a man named Dick Allbright whose dead infant son follows him on the river in a barrel. It is a parable of the search for the father and of the death by violence and rebirth by water. This cycle of birth and death in Huck Finn is a central aspect of the novel. Likewise, Jim undergoes a cycle of freedom and slavery. The searching aspect of the parable is seen within Huck when he chooses not to be with Pap nor Widow Douglas, but instead fakes his own death and meets Jim on the island, who becomes the father figure to Huck. Just as Jim becomes a father to Huck, Huck becomes Jim's family.
             Kenneth S. Lynn also discusses the aspects of civilization that Twain criticizes. The Great Valley society, romanticism, and religion are all criticized by Twain in the novel. While the main moral focus in Huckleberry Finn is the relationship between Huck and Jim, Mark Twain is able to bring into focus civilization as a whole.
             ...