5: Motivation

   Pap only has two things on his mind: money and alcohol. This is made evident not only by his constant state of drunkenness, but by his return into Huck's life, which is motivated solely by his desire to take Huck's earnings and make them his own. A potential other motivator for Pap could be the idea of clearing his name. Most of the town believes he is dead from drowning, and he is remembered as an abusive father and a drunk. He could think that getting this money will redeem him because people will perhaps admire him for being rich. There may also be the slight chance that, despite his awful behavior towards Huck, that he wants to be closer to his son, and maybe become a better parent.

     Pap does not get this opportunity to be a shining father figure, however, because Huck plots his escape shortly after their move to the shanty. His motivation sprouted from the fear he had of his father. This fear reaches its peak the night before his escapade, when Pap has a wild nightmare and nearly kills him, then forgets the entire thing upon awakening. Huck seems to decide he has had enough at this point. While he no longer wants to be in the custody of his father, he also does not want to return to the "pecking" of the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, so he simply runs away, setting up quite an elaborate scene, and voyages on his own.