Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2100 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: impact of the adventures of huckleberry finn

Famed novelist Ernest Hemingway believed that “[a]ll modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…the best book we’ve had.” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American tale with all the essentials of a story that feeds our imagination. On the surface, the novel appears to be a very unpretentious tale of adventure, and self-discovery that has earned a place on every high school required reading list. However, if the story is closely examined, it takes on darker undertones of a racist culture replete with derogatory language and glimpses into the ugliness and turmoil that followed in the years immediately after the Civil War, and that still exist today. Controversial and racist are two words commonly used to describe Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is considered to be the quintessential American novel, yet it remains in the middle of a debate over whether or not it should be taught in schools. The first point of the novel from which most controversy stems is the inclusion of the word “nigger”. The inclusion of the word in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is unnecessary and offensive. Initially, critics of the novel disliked Twain’s use of vernacular because it was “vulgar and unpleasant”, disturbing genteel white Americans, not because the word “nigger” was found to be offensive (Kaye 3). Fostering an uncomfortable atmosphere for black students, critics believe that primarily white educators allow the novel because they prefer Twain’s depiction of subservient blacks (Kaye 4). Due to the prolific use of the “n-word” throughout the novel, the NAACP believes the story causes damage to black students’ self-esteem (Powell 3). Critics argue Twain’s use of a... ... middle of paper ... ...E. "Teaching The Novel." Huck Finn's "Hidden" Lesson: Teaching Across the Color Line. N.p.: Lanham, Rowman, and Littelfield, 2006. 81-85. Print. Ryan, Kevin, and Karen E. Bohlin. Building Character InSchools:Practical Ways to Bring Moral Instruction to Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999. 25-40. Print. Smiley, Jane, and James Phelan. "Say It Ain't So, Huck: Second Thoughts on Mark Twain's "Masterpiece"" Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Critical Controversy. Ed. Gerald Graff. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2004. 456-66. Print. Spicer, Mackenzie. "Censoring Huck Finn." E-Vision. James Madison University, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Signet, 1959. Print. "Visiting Monticello with Huckleberry Finn." Education Digest. N.p., Dec. 2006, vol.72 issue 4, p.65-69. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Should Huck Finn Be Banned Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn’s unique ability to incorporate moral lessons through satire and simmilar literary techniques prove it to be vital for High school students, especially at Rye, to read. The vast nature of things it teaches is something very rare for one book to do. It not only provides the reader with important life themes like other great novels do but it also shocks the reader to show the power of racism which makes it one of the greatest pieces of literature of all time. Just think of how different things would be if no one had read such an important book.

    Read More

  • The Controversy of Huckleberry Finn

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    　　Over the 129 years for which the book has been in print, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been regarded with much controversy, for many different reasons. As it has progressed, the subject of this controversy has been almost constantly changing. This essay will explore some of the claims and explanations of the controversy, as well as a discussion on whether the book is even that controversial. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion about this novel, The main complaints seem to revolve around three core topics: Twain’s portrayal of Jim and other blacks, The extensive use of the racial slurs and racism, and the final chapters of the book itself.

    Read More

  • Racism In Jane Smiley's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Why would a man who fought against slavery, injustice, and discrimination write a racist book ? For some time, many students, educators, and scholars debated whether The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain deserves its place in our literary canon. Certain readers find the relationship between Huck and Jim especially problematic due to abundant use of the N word and Twain’s stereotypical depiction of Jim. On one hand, Jim is viewed as an uneducated slave who is always in peril due to Huck’s playfulness and immaturity. Yet, on the other hand, Jim is a complex secondary character crucial for Huck’s development from naiveté into maturity. Despite, the glaring overuse of racial epithets, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn should remain in the literary canon and continue to be taught as it allows readers to address racial misconceptions, such as racial

    Read More

  • Social Incongruency in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    As controversial as he is, Mark Twain has been accused by some, of being a racist writer, whose writing is offensive to black readers. His novels have also been labeled as promoting slave-era stereotypes. Therefore, many people believe The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deserves no place on today's bookshelves. To those of us who have delved wholeheartedly into Twain's wisdom and humanity, such accusations come across as ludicrous. To Twain's critics, the novel is superficially racist for the most obvious reason: many characters continually use the word "nigger". Yet, since the book takes place in the south, twenty years before the Civil War, such semantics were common occurrences. Therefore, should Twain be criticized for being historically correct? One should hope not. A closer reading of the novel also reveals Twain's serious satirical intent. In one scene, for instance, Aunt Sally hears of a steamboat explosion:

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn is Not a Racist Work

    1526 Words  | 4 Pages

    “All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” this is what fellow writer had to say about this classic novel. Still, this novel has been the object of controversy since it was published more than 150 years ago. Some people argue that Huckleberry Finn is a racist work, and that the novel has no place in a highschool classroom. This feeling is generated because a main character in the story, Jim, and other slaves are referred to many times as “niggers.” When Mark Twain wrote this book, he was striving to show the general public that society was wrong in the past, that the way white people thought black people were less than human was a wrong viewpoint. The book is also denounced because people feel that this book is anti-American. Russians have even taught this book to show that Americans are generally rotten people (Loeffler, class notes). But this novel is in no way anti-American, everything written about Americans is used as a satire, to make such a poignant book less serious, and to add some levity. Twain also has hidden morals in his messages. Huckleberry Finn should be taught in highschool classrooms because it is a very valuable and educational novel, with a moral and a theme that are needed to be learned by everyone.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.

    Read More

  • Hucklebery Finn by Mark Twain

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, educates high school students on how the Southern society operated at that time. When analyzing the novel, one can see that Twain’s writing clearly does not endorse slavery or the use of derogatory language toward African-Americans. In a petition to remove this book from a high school required reading list, a school board in New Jersey concluded, "the literary value of the book outweighed the negative aspect of the language employed.” (2) Huckleberry Finn is a satirical novel that was written to show the flaws of 19th century American society. It shows how people thought and acted back then, and points out what was wrong with the white supremacy mindset of many Southerners during these years. “The book itself is a great testament that...

    Read More

  • Racism: A Lingering Echo in Huckleberry Finn

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racism, a major issue in society for hundreds of years, even after the abolition of slavery, still affects millions of people. African Americans today still sensitivities towards racism, and the reading of Huckleberry Finn demonstrates the pertinence of racism today similarly to two hundred years ago. When reading novels containing nineteenth century racism, African American readers are exposed to the torments their ancestors were put through, and the novel can have a positive or negative effect in that the reader may enjoy the learning of their history but may also feel humiliated in relation to their classmates of other races. In the literary novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the apparent racism in the book affects

    Read More

  • The Immature Huck Finn in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hoffman, Daniel.  "Black Magic--and White--in Huckleberry Finn."  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:  An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism.  Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al.  2nd ed.  New York:  Norton, 1977.  423-436.

    Read More

  • Criticism of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Past and Present

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the all-time most controversial American novels.  Marks Twain’s masterpiece, narrated by a rebellious boy who rafts down the Mississippi river with a runaway slave, has received a wide variety of kudos and criticism since it first appeared in 1885.  While it is still applauded for its childlike imagination and realistic use of dialogue, the criticisms of Huck Finn have undergone a drastic shift.

    Read More

  • The Censorship Of Huck Finn

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn has been called one of the greatest pieces of American literature, deemed a classic. The book has been used by teachers across the country for years. Now, Huck Finn, along with other remarkable novels such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, are being pulled off the shelves of libraries and banned from classrooms. All the glory this majestic piece by Mark Twain has acquired is slowly being deteriorated. This is

    Read More

  • Hyperboles In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain during the late 1800’s (Mintz). The book brought major controversy over the plot, as well as the fact that it was a spin-off to his previous story, Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book has remained a success due to Twain’s interesting techniques of keeping the audience’s attention. Chapters eleven and twelve of “Huckleberry Finn,” uses a first person limited point of view to take advantage of the use of dialogue while using many hyperboles to add drama to entertain the reader by creating description within the story without needing to pause and explain.

    Read More

  • The True Father of Huck Finn

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    Twain, Mark, and Cynthia Johnson. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Prejudice and Racism in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves.  However one must ask if Twain is encouraging traditional southern racism or is Twain disputing these idea.

    Read More

  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Research Paper

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...Claudia Durst. “Unfit for Children: Censorship and Race.” Huck Finn in Context: A Teaching Guide. Excerpt from Understanding Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.

    Read More

More about Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Open Document