Question

What is the final incident in this chapter and what is its literary function? Chapter 12 of Huckleberry Finn.

Answer 1

From what I found, one of the thieves in the gang refused to shoot a man but lets him drown. Their gang are a murderous bunch of thieves so it is ironic the member decides not to shoot. I was not sure of the function until I did some more research. LitCharts explains more on this chapter saying that "this thief seems to want to excuse himself from the guilt of murder, even though his action here has the same effect as murder. His rule is absurd." So there we have it, hope this helps.