Huck Finn has a father, but one would not really consider him the title. Huck has a bad moral base, because he has no real father figure to guide him. Jim serves as both the father figure and the provider of oppritunities for moral growth for Huck. Jim has an initial instinct to protect and watch over Huck, even though lawfully this would not be seen as practical or rightful due to their predicament and circumstances. Jim's sense of love and humanity is first uncovered when Jim discovers Pap's corpse on the houseboat: "It's a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He's ben shot in de back. I reck'n he's ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face -- it's too gashly." (p.53) This is an example of how Jim is serving as a protector for Huck by not allowing him to see his dead fathers face, immediately proving his humane and loving aspects. Huck later on wishes to talk to Jim about the dead man, but Jim refrains from telling him in order to protect Huck from knowing about his dead father. Huck soon realizes that Jim is not as naive and stupid as he put him off to be. Jim has a big heart and a good mentality. Although he is unsophisticated, he knows that he must prove himself to Huck so that he could see him on equal terms. This whole idea is tough for Huck to accept, because at this point in time he still thinks of Jim in terms of being a slave. Huck also has moral ambiguity: he needs to out Jim for the sake of the law, but he also needs to protect his friend for the sake of his own feelings. Ironically, Jim is the one that teaches Huck a lesson. Huck takes the biggest leap of all by humbling himself to a nigger. Huck understands that in society he is considered higher than Jim and he feels to blame for setting him free. The river and the raft allow Huck to come to his own conclusions, because his opinion is not shaped by the law or what society thinks is just. The river and the raft both represent isolation and freedom.