acters, Tom Sawyer and Huck, found $12,000 worth of buried treasure, which they split. After the money was was invested, it began earning them $1 a day in interest, which, by Huck's account, "was more than a body could tell what to do with" (Twain 1). However, before long, the man with whom they trusted their investment, Judge Thatcher, had found a way to pay Huck the consideration of one dollar, for which Huck signed away all rights to his small fortune (Twain 17-18). Huck was aware that he was giving away his money, but he did not care, he wanted the judge to have the money. Later, when Pap Finn sues Judge Thatcher to get the money back, Huck is unconcerned with the outcome. Instead, he just borrowed a couple of dollars every now and then from the judge (Twain 23). Huck is more concerned with his plot to free a Miss Watson's slave, Jim. Thus, Huck would rather conspire with Tom to free Jim (Twain 216-17) than to join with Pap Finn and chase after the judge for his money. In this respect, the novel focuses on what it means to be a free man (Sattelmeyer 332).
One thing that Huck and Sal Paradise have in common is that they are both boys at heart, on their way to becoming men. For Huck, he tumbles from danger to danger, being serious in his attempts, but childlike in his actions. For instance, Huck is swindled by a dishonest judge and fooled by Tom, who knew all along that Jim had already been freed by Miss Watson's will (Twain 278-279). But Huck was concerned with being free from having to go to school, from having to report to Miss Watson, and from having to make the judge account for his money. Huck is concerned with adventure, and seeks it in the same haphazard fashion that the young Sal does. (Sal goes cross country with little money and no guarantee that he will actually get a ride which will take him to his next destination.) The journeys which both characters take help increase their sense of individualism and p...