In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the effects of society and culture play a significant role in the characters' attitude and behavior. Huck, the protagonist, is a perfect example of this, as his actions and thoughts are often influenced by the beliefs of those around him, instead of his own instincts.
             Huck Finn life's revolves around a series of people, all of whom influence him in many ways. His friend Tom Sawyer, his father, and the Widow Douglas all have some say in the way Huck lives. Tom often gets Huck into trouble by convincing him to sneak out of the house and perform mischievous acts. The Widow Douglas introduces Huck to religion, as she makes him study the bible, in addition to teaching him to read. The most influential person in Huck's life, however, is his father. His father treats him very poorly, often abusing him verbally and sometimes physically. Huck grew up with this very poor treatment, along with a very racist atmosphere. "Why ain't this nigger put up at auction and sold?" asks his father when discussing a wealthy, free black. This kind of attitude has provided Huck with a, at least subconscious, racist state-of-mind.
             It is obvious that Huck is not a racist because he states so several times in the book. However, his father's racism, as well as society's, has led to his biased opinion of blacks. One example of this is his disrespect of Jim. Huck shows a respect for his elders, as he is kind and considerate when around Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas. However, several times in the novel Huck has disrespected and humiliated Jim, which demonstrates society's input in Huck's actions. One trick of Huck's was when he placed a dead snake by Jim to try to scare him. This backfired when the snake's partner bit Jim, which left painful bruises for several weeks. A more significant trick that Huck pulled occurred later on in the book, while...