The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
...t he has "never seen anybody but lied, one time or another" (1). Unlike the lawless adventurer of the frontier, Huck does not use his knack for selfish purposes. He, instead, uses his lies strictly as a means of escaping misfortune and never for his own profit. At one point in the story, Huck uses his skill to fabricate a story that keeps a skiff of slave-hunters away from Jim: " 'Well, there's five niggers run off to-night, up yonder above the head of the bend. Is your man white or black?'...'He's white' " (110). Huck's tall tales are used for the survival of both Huck and Jim, and Jim knows this. Huck's stories are usually believed, but even when doubted, he manages to change his fib just enough to make it believable. An example of this is when he is caught as a stow-away on a raft and his original story is not believed by the crew: "Now, looky-here, you're scared, and so you talk wild. Honest, now, do you live in a scowl, or is i...