Describe the character of Jim and his relationship with Huck throughout the novel. When he learned earlier in the novel that Pap was the dead man in the floating house, why did he keep this information from Huck?

It doesn't take long to surmise that Huck is a kindred spirit. Their fateful meeting on Jackson's Island, in the middle of the Mississippi River, began a friendship based on sincerity and respect. Huck wrestled with the notion of aiding an escaped slave but his inner values won out over ugly Southern social norms. Both Huck and Jim seem to understand each other without having to say much. They both long for freedom in their own ways and they compliment each other. Jim doesn't tell Huck about his dead Pap because he simply thought that telling Huck would do Huck more harm than good. He cared about how Huck felt.