I'm a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and lately I've
been thinking about how families figure in Twain's writings.  While some
critics have called attention to "endangered" families, I'm more
interested in Twain's depiction of what modern readers might consider
"dysfunctional" or "dangerous."  _Huck Finn_ seems to provide a number of
obvious examples, but I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this?

Thanks,

Maria K. Bachman