A house is normally described as a dwelling in which a person feels safe and can be themselves. In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck, the protagonist, considers the river his home. All his life, the shore has had negative connotations, but after moving to the river, everything changes for the better. While on the ground, he is brutalized by his father, forced to comply by Miss Watson, and witnesses a murder. On the river, he finds his family and learns to relax. There are many examples of family in the novel, some functional, others figurative. When Huck is on earth, he meets many different types of families; including his relationship with his father, Pap. Pap has many views on how Huck should be raised, including his belief that Huck should not be taught to read; “You too are educated,” they say; knows how to read and write. You think you're better than your father now, don't you, because he can't?... I'll sleep for you, my smart one; and if I catch you about this school, I'll give you a good tan” (18). Pap's reaction to Huck's upbringing is appalling. As a father, he should only have Huck's best interest in mind, without focusing on keeping his child illiterate. Unfortunately, this isn't the only example of family dysfunction we see in the novel. When Huck loses Jim in the water, he washes up and is found by the Grangerfords. This animal family is in conflict with a neighboring clan, the Shepherdsons, while neither party knows the true root of the dispute. Both of these families are heartless, and although they seem quite civilized with their formalities and beautiful houses, they are savages. Death is a common phenomenon, against which no eyelash has batted. Huck meets his counterpart, Buck, and soon sees how disturbed this family truly is by Mr. Grangerford's death. “[Buck] said his father and two brothers had been killed…Buck said his father and brothers would have to wait for their relationships – the Shepherdsons were too strong for them” (97). Although Huck feels like he fits in with the Grangerfords, he is horrified by how they view the deaths of their loved ones. When Buck dies, Huck becomes very upset, only because one of the few people he cared about died. Although Huck feels an attachment to the Grangerfords, they do not function as a family and do not treat him accordingly...