The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is not a novel that leaves the reader satisfied or content. Huck's moral struggles concerning Jim, a significant issue of the story, are never adequately resolved. By watching Huck waver this way and that, one can see he has no regular opinion of his own but is consistently influenced by his surroundings. Huck's attitude throughout the novel and during the disappointing conclusion is not accidental; it serves as Twain's subtle illustration of the flaws of human character under society's adverse influences.
             Throughout the novel, Huck capriciously battles with himself on the subject of Jim, but fails to act in a way that proves himself decisive. At one point he decides that he will turn Jim in "Let up on me -- it ain't too late yet -- I'll paddle ashore at the first light and tell" (Twain, 119). However, this resolution proves to be pointless as his will has more twists and bends than the river they follow. Though Huck occasionally experiences some change of heart, he seldom acts upon his thoughts. He says, "what's the use you learning to do right when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? I was stuck. I couldn't answer that. So I reckoned I wouldn't bother no more about it, but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time" (Twain, 94). Why is Huck so uncertain? Some may conclude that he is battling between the urgings of his conscience and the tenets of society, but he is too pliable a character to partake in such struggles. His internal fluctuations are not the product of strong inner convictions, rather, they are the result of his immediate surroundings.
             The raft liberates Huck and Jim from the attitudes and outlooks of their former upbringing, causing Huck to deliberate with more clarity. Huck reflects that "one feels mighty free on a raf...