Silas and Sally Phelps

The king happens to sell Jim to Tom’s aunt and uncle. Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas are good natured and hospitable southern folk with lots of children. The two fall for a bunch of Tom and Huck’s lies, but they also have honest intentions and big hearts. Although Huck and Sally really begin to form a strong mother-son type of relationship, at the end of the novel, Huck says he doesn’t think he can stand to be taken in by this lovely family, given their civilized ways.

Silas and Sally also serve an important purpose, at least we think, in the novel. It becomes clear almost right away that the pair is welcoming and loving, and they really embrace the southern tradition of hospitality. Unfortunately, they also embrace the South’s tradition of slavery.