Huckleberry Finn Chapters 16-18

In chapters 16-18 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck finds himself on land, in the home of the Grangerfords. Huck then meets Buck, a member of the Grangerfords who is also about his age. The Grangerfords come off as a well off, organized, and well behaved family. However, this is not so, one example of this is when Miss Sophia runs off with Harney Shepherdsons. Since Miss Sophia is a member of the Grangerfords her running away is an act of rebellion, contradicting the well behaved first impression given off by the family. Another example of this is the on-going feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, which is intensified when Miss Sophia runs off. As a result Sophia running away a fresh battle between the two families begins, catching Huck in the cross fire. Buck dies in this battle, leaving Huck disturbed with society. After the battle Huck runs off, eventually finding Jim and going back to his raft and the river where he feels secure and comfortable. The fact that Huck felt uneasy living with the Grangerfords, even though they had a life of luxury shows that Huck is not quite ready to leave his simple life with Jim on the raft. This also alludes to the cliché that “money can't buy happiness”, seeing as how the Grangerfords appear to have it all, but can't seem to control their daughter or find a peaceful solution to the feud.