Guys, these are FICTIONAL CHARACTERS (Huck & Jim) whose total  motivations
are unstated, or, at best, implied. Even though roughly cut from  real
people,
experiences, speculation as to a fictional character's motivation  is what
Clemens might label as "mental masturbation." But then, I realize such  is
much
activity under the heading of "literary criticism." I wouldn't speculate  as
to
complex aspects of the fictional Jim's supposed motivational elements  other
than the obvious ones of self-preservation and love for Huck as previously
expressed here, but these are explicitly stated within the work.  If I  were

plagued by midnight questions as to the man's motivation between the lines,
I
would seek first to examine anything the author said about such
impulses--and,if
there were none, I would expect the author would have relied on  the
reader's
filter to provide whatever motivation seemed appropriate. In other  words,
first--look at the *historical record*: notes, comments, letters made by
Sam
about the book, and take them at face value.

I used to ask myself why Sam felt Joan of Arc was his best work, and  not
Huckleberry Finn, considered by most modern critics to be his masterpiece.
I've
answered that for myself, that this was due his highly romanticized and
unrealistic pedestal of young women, and his desire to produce a "serious"
book,
which is why it was printed anonymously. He stated that people would  look
for
the joke should he sign his name to it, and he wanted to write it for
"love"--a sort of reverence of that female image that reflected itself in
his
relationship to Livy, his girls (especially Susy), and later his Angelfish.
It
seems Sam was quite affected and motivated by such romantic ideals--which
gets  me
too uncomfortably close to making assumptions that might lead me into  the
briar patch of such delusions as making up motivations for fictional
characters.

David H Fears