"I called it borrowing, because that was what pap always called it; but Tom said it warn't borrowing, it was stealing." (Twain 279)
I commented on a blog about this before and thought it was interesting. Huck is following his pap's footsteps and ways of life. He doesn't like his ways and always hid when he came to town but then does what his pap does. If it wasn't for his pap then he wouldn't have been through everything. Another thing is, someone finally told him that it isn't borrowing, it is stealing. One of the reasons Huck just kept saying it was borrowing was because he didn't know any different so he just kept doing it. Now there is someone to guide him in the right way. Even though Widow Douglas tried teaching him to be polite, this isn't something that he could have been taught in a house or in school. It's one of those hands on things that he needed to be taught in the woods like this.
I chose to put this under depth. Because I went into this more than most. I had a lot of opinions and ideas on this topic. It also had a comment that sparked more interaction.
Sometimes I feel like Huck knew better, but if he wanted something, he justified it by "borrowing" it. He usually had a pretty good idea of things he shouldn't be doing, but if he needed something that countered that upbringing, he could justify his needs via the methods of his Pap!
Yea, that is so true. If you think about it, he is stuck on his own and can't afford much so the only way to get something and is "borrow" it. It is basically his only option at times.