There are two very key aspects of Huck Finn that need to be understood about him in order to view the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" with a clear and focused mind, both of which I am sure Huck would readily deny. The first is that even though his father has not been very supportive of him before the time the book begins, Huck (in some ways) still looks up to his father. The other is that since this is somewhat of an extension from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", Huck tries awfully hard to live up to the standards that his counterpart has set.
The first evidence of Huck having these positive feelings towards his father is seen when Huck, Tom, and their friends meet to discuss "Tom Sawyer’s Gang" late in chapter two. They had decided they would kill the family of any member who told their secrets, but Huck not having either of his parents around offers that they kill the widow Watson if he ever tells. What is significant about this is that Huck very well knows that although his father has not been seen for nearly a year, he is still around. Thus, when Huck quickly says no when the others suggest they would find and kill his father, this indicates that Huck cares enough about him to protect him, even if he knows there is no chance that that opportunity would arise.
Huck also shows that he cares for his father, although on a much broader basis, by often times recalling different phrases Pac would say in their times together. Not only does this show a positive connection Huck has made with his father by Huck simply remembering what his father used to say, but it is shown more outstandingly in the ways that Huck actually abides by those general rules and by the way he has incorporated those rules into his own belief system. An example of this is when Huck decides to steal more vegetables than he really needs because as his father would always say, "take a chicken when you get a chance, because if you don’t want him yourself you can easy find somebody that does"(page 64). And although perhaps Huck did not learn a very moral lesson from his father, it was, nonetheless, a lesson.
Although Huck’s father undoubtedly plays a key role in influencing what Huck does, Tom Sawyer plays a larger part in the way Huck explains what he does. This can be concluded based on the hints Huck dropped in the very first chapter (and first paragraph for that matter) of the novel. He comments on how adventurous Tom was but then he also says how Mark Twain stretched the truth a little. Huck tells the reader this in efforts to try to make the adventures he is going to have seem comparable to those had by Tom. Thus, this could also mean that Huck may be stretching the truth himself, which is definitely something that the reader needs to keep in mind when reading the rest of the novel.
Again, although Huck may not be ready to admit it, his father as well as Tom Sawyer have had and will continue to have a great impact on how the story unfolds. However, whether their impacts will be beneficial or detrimental remains to be seen.