The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Should be in the Classroom
To teach or not to teach? This is the question that is presently
on many administrators' minds about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain. For those who read the book without grasping the important
concepts that Mark Twain gets across "in between the lines", many problems
arise. A reader may come away with the impression that the novel is simply
a negative view of the African-American race. Many scholars and educators,
like Marylee Hengsetbeck who said, "If Huck Finn is used solely as a part
of a unit on slavery or racism, we sell the book short." (Hengstebeck 32)
feel that there is much to be learned about Blacks from this book and it
should not be banned from the classroom. This is only one of many themes
and expressions that Mark Twain is describing in his work. Another central
theme is how the depiction of race relations and slavery is used as insight
into the nature of blacks and whites as people in general. Overall, the
most important thing to understand is that Mark Twain is illustrating his
valuable ideas subtly and not pushing them upon the reader directly.
Primarily, Huck Finn teaches readers two important lessons about
the true nature of people. Throughout the book, one of these main lessons
is that Blacks can be just as caring as whites. The white characters often
view the blacks as property rather than as individuals with feelings and
aspirations of their own. Huck comes to realize that Jim is much more than
a simple slave when he discusses a painful experience with his daughter.
Jim describes how he once called her and she did not respond. He then
takes this as a sign of disobedience and beats her for it. Soon realizing
that she is indeed deaf, he comforts her and tries to make up for the act
of beating. The feeling that Jim displays shows Huck that Jim has a very
human reaction and the fact Jim says, "Oh Huck, I bust out crying....'Oh
the po' little thing!" (Twain 151), only further proves to Huck that Jim
is as caring as he is. Huck's realization allows him to see that Jim is no
longer the ordinary slave. The point where Huck completely changes his
attitudes towards blacks comes when he is faced with the dilemma of turning
in Jim. Huck fights with his conscience and also reflects on the things
that Jim has done for him. "I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n,
stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was
when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp,
up there where the feud was; and such likes the times: and would always
call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and
how good he always was..." (Twain) These two key scenes are among many
that illustrate the idea that Blacks can be as caring and emotional as
Whites - one of the main lessons of the book.
The second main lesson that the book teaches is that the world is
full of hypocrites. Huck realizes that through his experiences with Jim
that he and Blacks like him are not what he has been told. People like
Miss Watson, who represent the established belief system of Huck's society,
tells him that blacks were nothing but property and should be treated as
such. Huck now knowing that this is not the case sees that people, like
Miss Watson, made up these laws to suit themselves. Furthermore, Huck
sees that Miss Watson would often make up a regulation for him but not
abide by it herself. An example of this concerns the subject of snuff.
"And she took snuff too; of course that was alright, because she done it
herself." (Twain ) Huck noticed this double standard even more now
because he began to see that not everything Miss Watson told him was true.
With this, Huck not only sees Jim in a new light, but begins to see that
the people who supposedly know everything, didn't really know anything.
Again other critiques of the novel state that as a whole the book is "a
masterpiece of irony." (Kilpatrick) With this second main lesson, the book
defends itself against being banned.
People who would ban "Huckleberry Finn" simply for the on the
surface racial content are no better than the character of Miss Watson.
The idea of banning a book and not teaching it to others is selfish and
subjective in itself. Those who are seeking to ban it would often follow
their own agendas, like Miss Watson in only trying to get their own view
across and not allowing the novel to be interpreted for what it really is.
As Hengstebeck states in her critique "Selective editing only masks the
real problem." (Hengstebeck 32), another main reason arises about the
recognition of slavery and racism. Racism is an ever present idea in our
society. To ban the book would be to deny students the insight that Twain
brings to the subject. Mark Twain brings a first hand account to the
subject through the character of Jim and how he reacts to his white
neighbors. Jim, although he is shown to be a rational and mature person,
bows down to white authority when he says lines like, "Jim couldn't see no
sense in the most of it but he allowed, we was white folks and knew better
than him" The perspective that Twain gives through the character of Jim is
invaluable because it takes the concepts of slavery and racism and gives
them life. By making the concepts more real and accessible to people,
Twain shows the subject for what it really is. Having this perspective
would only help people to understand the concept better and deal with its
many implications. As Morton Fried states "The removal of such literary
works from the classroom, however, would be a strategy of defeat on the war
against racism." (Fried) Racism is built on ignorance, therefore banning
the book's insights would only perpetuate that ignorance and be a victory
for racism and not a loss.
To consider banning this novel simply because it has situations and
characters that are considered racist is superficial. The novel does show
the relationships between blacks and whites in the nineteenth century and
all its overtones. However, it shows these situations not to promote
racism against blacks, but to bring a better understanding of the subject.
The character of Jim is shown to be caring, considerate towards Huck and
more mature and human than the society allows him to be. Although he is
shown to be this way, Twain shows the irony and hypocrisy of treating a
mature man like simple property. The novel also shows how a boy, who is a
product of this hypocritical society, comes to realize the true nature of
his friend Jim and how screwed up his white peers actually are. In showing
these ironic situations and the transformation that Huck goes through the
reader sees racism and its implications in a real life setting. People who
want to ban the book miss the idea entirely. Instead of getting rid of
something that is supposedly racist, they only perpetuate racism by denying
others a good source of material on the subject. Overall, banning the book
would be doing more harm than good for society because of the denial of
ignorance-breaking insight on an everlasting conflict.Partner sites: Study Spanish in Guatemala, American Bulldog Information, and Eulogies