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