What is Pap's role in Huck's journey?

Although Huck grew up a majority of the time without Pap, Pap's views on society, the government, and what he thinks is right and wrong have been instilled in Huck, even if Huck is unaware of it. For example, when Pap goes on that rant in chapter six, he severely criticizes the government, yelling about the elections and voting. In the midst of this, he also criticizes and seriously degrades slaves and African Americans, along with criticizing the rest of society as well. Obviously, Huck heard these opinions and is going to either agree or disagree.
However, I believe Pap's lack of morals that influenced Huck is also what caused Huck to not only have inter battles with himself about what the "right" thing to do is, what his heart wants, and what is socially accepted, but also to help Huck create his own opinions and help him decide what it is his own heart wants. Huck says at different point in the book that "pap says" this and "pap always said" that, so obviously Huck was influenced by him. But further, I believe that Pap was used as a figure to help Huck make his own decisions and take that step further to decide what he thinks is right, despite the moral corruption his father inflicted upon him.
Furthermore, I believe that because Pap was such a failure as a father, along with Huck's lack of family, this also helped Huck feel more closely connected with Jim because they were so close and Jim was constantly helping and looking out for Huck, calling him "honey" and always being happy to see him. Because of this, I believe that Huck felt a stronger connection to Jim because it was like Jim was filling this empty spot that Huck had, where family, and a father figure were supposed to be.
Despite Pap not being in the novel very long, Pap did have an influence on Huck's journey and his overall growth of a person as well. Pap's negative influence on Huck also helped Huck take a step towards making HIS own decisions and deciding what it is Huck thinks is right and wrong (what his heart says verse what his conscience says; what society says verse what he wants). Also, Pap's failure as a father helped make Huck and Jim's relationship stronger because Jim was seen as like family to Huck. Overall, it was Pap's negativity that helped Huck grow and learn more, along with feel a stronger connection to Jim.