Darrin R. Berard

Pap Darrin R. Berard

Pap ranks among the most reviled characters in American Literature. Certainly, the fact that he abuses and abandons his son, Huckleberry, in Mark Twain?s classic novel ?Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? makes him an appropriate target of hatred. But didn?t Mark Twain believe that everyone has a ?good spot? inside of them? So, if that?s true?for everyone?how can we reconcile the author?s philosophy with his seemingly damnable character, Pap? The answer lies beneath the surface of ?Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.? This book fishes out that answer. Whenever appropriate, ?Pap? attempts to stay true to Mark Twain?s original storyline in ?Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? concerning major events and the passage of time. But this work offers a new ?reading? of Pap. While this gripping story can be read in isolation, it is most enriching and enlightening when paired with Twain?s novel, offering answers to the major mysteries that Twain purposely left behind. Was Pap always the way we find him in ?Huckleberry Finn?? Does he care at all for his son? What happened to Huck?s mother? And who shot Pap? "Even for those not teaching 'Huck Finn', 'Pap' offers a gripping read." - "The Sun" (Lowell, Mass.) 4/24/11