Huckleberry Finn – Moral
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tell the story of how a young boy learns how to overcome the idea that colored folks are less equal then white folk. Regardless of the positive lessons portrayed throughout this book, it has been miss represented even from the very day that it was published. In fact, it has been said that this "book has been controversial since it was published it 1885" in a Los Angeles Times article written by Henry Weinstein in 1998. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classical story which was written for enjoyment and future education. This book was not written to encourage any derogatory slurs to any ethnic groups. Even though Jim, the colored friend of Huckleberry Finn, felt that every white person though of color people as less equal, his friendship with Huck should be an inspiration to everyone to overcome differences. America has become a country that has given every one of its citizens an awesome privilege to be equal. Along with this privilege to be equal, America citizens have the opportunity to learn and become educated. The schools that provide this education should had the right to teach people how this country has evolved into a great nation. This right should include an ability to examine both the good and the bad and it should include a proper response to both. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides an excellence chance for teachers to explain to young people how America has now treats everyone equal.
Many times in the friendship of Huck and Jim, Jim's idea that all white people treat colored people as less equal then white people show up. Jim, who is a run-a-way slave, was always trying to avoid any contact with white people of town. One specific example of how Jim thought about white people was when he stumbled across a dead man on the river in a house. Jim did not what to tell anyone, not even Huck. He thought that if anyone found out they would blame him for murdering the fellow. Jim was always in hiding. He thought that if a white person saw him, he would be sent back to his owner and punished. Jim only really came in contact with on the Mississippi, as Russell Backer wrote, were "drunkards, murderers, bullies, swindlers, lynchers, thieves, liars, frauds, child abusers, numskulls, hypocrites, windbags, and traders in human flesh." Because of the people that he meet, he formed an idea of what all white people might thing of all colored people. Jim should not have stereotyped white people like this. At the same time schools should not stereotype Huckleberry Finn as a derogatory book because of the thoughts of early southern Americans.
The friendship of Huck and Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry not only is a good example of how people of different ethnic background should treat each other, but it is also a good encouragement to readers to have loyalty to friends. Huck was feeling guilty for not telling on his run-a-way slave. He even wrote a note that would get Jim in trouble. After some time, Huck decided that his friendship was important to him. Huck ripped the note and never told on Jim.
If examined improperly, this classic story includes an offensive word. People must consider many other situations in history that could include offensive literature. In history, Semitic peoples were treated terribly by Adolf Hitler. If schools in America do not have the right to discuss, explain and read about history, how will young people learn what is good and what is bad. Should every history book be banned from schools because Hitler was anti-Semitic? No! Rather people need to learn how to "think critical about offensive ideas" as Reinhardt once said in a Los Angeles Times article in 1998. Also, how will young people know why or how they now have the privilege to be a citizen of a county that gives all ethic group equal rights.
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