Many books around the world have been banned because they are offensive. One example is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel about the journey of a thirteen-year-old boy named Huck, who fabricates his own death to run away with an escaped slave named Jim. The two voyage in a raft along the Mississippi River to gain their individual freedom. In addition, Huck gains a new understanding about humanity. Huck Finn has been creating great controversy on both sides of the argument: to ban or to keep in the school curriculum. Currently “much debate has surrounded Mark Twain’s Huck Finn since its publication in 1885, but none has been more pervasive, explosive, and divisive than that surrounding the issue on race” (Chadwick-Joshua xi). In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, characters speak with a racist dialect. The way that characters speak and address African Americans causes a tremendous amount of controversy regarding whether to ban or keep the book in public schools.
Huck Finn is thought to be a racist book, and some of Mark Twain’s audiences believe that it should be banned from school curriculum. The main reason the public wants Huck Finn to be banned is because of its racial dialect. The use of the word “nigger” is used repeatedly throughout the novel. Some people say that “Twain’s consistent use of the word ‘nigger’ is…troubling to readers” (James). The fact that the word is so often used throughout the book offends many African Americans. It is offensive because the word “nigger” has very strong negative connotations and past references to blacks as slaves. Hughes describes, “The word nigger to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull. Used rightly or wron...
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Works Cited
“A Rationale for Teaching Huckleberry Finn.” EXPLORING Novels. Online Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center – Junior. St. Francis High School – GA. Web.17 Feb. 2014.
Chadwick-Joshua, Jocelyn. The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Huckleberry Finn. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 1998. Print.
Henry, Peaches. “The Struggle for tolerance: Race and Censorship in Huck Finn.” Huck Finn Controversy. Western Michigan University, July 2002. Web. 25 Feb 2014.
“Huck Finn Teacher’s Guide. About the Book.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
James, Pearl. “Overview of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” EXPLORING Novels. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center – Junior. Gale. St. Francis High School – GA. Web. 1 March. 2014.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam, 1981. Print.
The Adventures of Huck Finn is a very controversial book which brings much debate on whether it should be taught to children in America. The main reason for this debate is because the offensive word ‘nigger’ is used commonly throughout. The book is a classic and is seen to some people as such a great book that we should overlook the offensive word to understand the real lessons Mark Twain wanted to get across. One solution to this ongoing debate is something called the New South Edition, which substitutes ‘nigger’ for a ‘slave’ a word that is less personal and describes the history of America. Dr. Alan Gribben writes about the controversy and how the change effects the new edition. He uses personal anecdote, emotional appeal, historical references.
The act of banning something is an aggressive measure. However, this being said whether to ban Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been debated. While some say that the book is offensive and disrespectful, others claim it to be a valuable learning lesson. Because of its beneficial lessons, its way of shocking the reader, its reputation as being one of the best novels in american history along with other controversial books being allowed in high schools, The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn should be read by every High School across the country.
“Who gets to decide what I get to read in schools?” This question was brought up by Dr. Paul Olsen in a recent lecture. This question inspires many other questions revolving around the controversy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It makes one wonder if books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included in high school curriculum even with all the controversy about them or are they better left alone. Should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taken off of school reading lists because of a single word when it has so much more to offer students? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included in high school English curriculums because it is relevant to current issues, it starts important conversations about race
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." SparkNotes Mobile Web Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 236-419.
Many people feel that Huck Finn should be banned from schools. John H. Wallace presented several arguments against the novel. In particular, he felt strongly about how demeaning the book is towards African Americans and that they are offended by language used within it (Wallace). For example, in the book, Aunt Sally asks if anyone was hurt and he says, “No’m. Killed a n****r” (Twain 221). This implies that slaves were worthless. Considering the treatment the African Americans have received in the past few hundred years, it is completely understandable that they are bothered by this. Wallace also feels that Twain chooses terrible role
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...
...cal Edition, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. and Trans. Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beaty, E. Hudson Long, and Thomas Cooley. New York: Norton, 1977. 328-335.
Gaither, J. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. Morrison, Toni. Introduction. Rep. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Dlackley.org. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
Jones, Rhett S. "Nigger and Knowledge. White Double-Consciousness in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Ed. James Leonard, et al. Durham: Duke UP, 1992. 173-194.
This book has been banned from school libraries all over the country because of the main character's teenage angst, which many feel is too graphic for teenagers, and its profanity. Profanity, whether it be frequent or a rare occurrence, is a characteristic of many literary classics, as is the use of racial epithets.In the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (ranking number 2 on the list), an epithet is use many times over to describe the people of color in the book. Now since the book was published in 1885 and such language was common at the time, I do not belie...
Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Greenwood Press “Literature in Context” Series. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Twain, Mark, and Cynthia Johnson. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
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.
Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time. Despite objections to the novel for offensive and insensitive portrayal of African Americans due to Twain’s negative and stereotypical “minstrel-like” characterization of Jim and the extensive use of the term “nigger,” throughout the novel, Twain exposes Jim’s unfeigned humanity behind a “minstrel-like” pretense by illustrating his capacity to possess profound human emotions and his triggering Huck’s moral transformation from a conscienceless, uncivilized juvenile into a an adolescent able to make the ethical choice.