Analysis

When Pap’s tracks appear, Huck would rather give his money away than risk confronting Pap. He knows that Pap is inspired only by whisky or greed, and if Huck is poor, perhaps Pap will leave him alone. In the previous chapter, Pap is described as a town vagrant who “used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard” and Huck is not affected by the description. But Huck’s indifference to Pap’s reputation changes when he realizes Pap is back in town. Huck’s fear is understated, but it suggests that his previous life with Pap was violent and dysfunctional. Moreover, the subtle threat of abuse underscores the theme of a chaotic and violent environment after the Civil War, an environment that Huck cannot entirely avoid despite his plans and cunning.

Chapter 4 continues to document that Huck and Jim are superstitious and are products of their society and their circumstances. When Jim uses the hairball to discover Pap’s intentions, Jim ends up forecasting Huck’s future more than Pap’s, and the similarities between the two are obvious. According to Jim, both Pap and Huck have “two angels hoverin'” over them, and the future is uncertain. Jim warns Huck to stay away from the water because it is his fate to be hanged. The darkness in Huck’s future, then, relates directly to the Mississippi River, and it is predestined (“down in de bills”) that Huck will suffer because of it. The inclusion of predestination reflects Twain’s Calvinist background. More important, however, the battle of the two angels foreshadows Huck’s future battle with his conscience in terms of Jim’s freedom.

Glossary

irish potato the common white potato; so called because extensively cultivated in Ireland.

down in de bills predestined, foreordained by divine decree or intent.