By the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, segregation, and the KKK still plagued the South and enacted white oppression despite the end of slavery. Reconstruction left so much work undone for legal and social equality, which ultimately lead to the Civil Rights Movement. Considering the broader historical context, the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain argues that the South was not ready for Reconstruction to end, because it did not achieve its goal of equality that everyone deserves. Some critics contend that Huck Finn is a racist novel; Jim is a stereotype of the ignorant slave, and the only educated, exemplary black person is half white. The novel also comes off as racist because the novel’s eponymous hero is racist, yet …show more content…
A common argument is that the novel is against slavery, because of the aforementioned egalitarian subtleties. However, at the time Twain published the novel, slavery had already ended. Therefore, the question remains why he set the book during the era of slavery. This was done in part to cause more sympathy for the slaves. Jim and Huck are in comparable situations, because they both seek liberation from slavery and abuse, respectively. This similarity makes Jim a more sympathetic character. Even racist readers during Twain’s time may feel empathy for Jim, because they will feel it for Huck after his father kidnapped, abused, and abandoned him in favor of getting drunk. Ultimately, they both get their freedom. Huck gets to be wild and free while his dad can’t hurt him anymore. Jim is legally free. But we know that he will never have equality. After deciding to sacrifice his freedom for the sake of Tom Sawyer, a rotten kid, Jim will always be treated as a second class citizen. This injustice cannot be overlooked. It laments racial oppression by implying that Jim deserves so much more than freedom—he deserves
How would you feel if a white boy couldn’t apologize to a grown black man because it goes against his faith? If I was in the black man’s position I would feel disrespected but I wouldn’t blame the white boy because he was brought up like that and it’s in his mentality to look at African Americans as property and with disgust. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain incorporates racism and slavery to show how and why it is wrong. He uses Huck, one of his man characters, to demonstrate how a white boy breaks forth from society’s racist ideas and the people around him to have a strong friendship with a slave name Jim, who becomes a fugitive. He uses Jim to demonstrate humanity and how it has nothing to do with the color of your skin. He also shows the struggle African Americans had to go through during that period of time in order to be free. Through friendship Huck learns that Jim is a regular human being just like everyone else.
Mark Twain was not a racist because he did not portray Huckleberry Finn as one in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. “People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum, but that don’t make no difference”(43). Huck new it was wrong to help Jim escape, but that was his friend and he did not care was the other people thought. “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”(214). Huck decides that he doesn’t want to give up Jim’s locations so he decides to rip up the letter that he was going to send to Jim’s owner Miss Watson, even if it meant that he would go to hell for committing what he believed was a sin. “I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now”(214).
Many words the book contains are full of vivid disgust towards black slaves. Every single line talks about how white people despise and refuse to accept the black race. Answering Aunt Sally's question about whether or not anyone is hurt Huck answers, "no mum, just killed a nigger."(Twain 213) This is the one and only acceptable way to talk about black people in the "white" society. In addition to this, not only is the black people treated differently from the white, they are also considered to be one's property. "He is the only property I have," (Twain 122) Huck is perforce to say in order to save Jim. This is the only way to get through without the essence of suspicions. Though Huck shows racism in public as society teaches him, deep inside he understands that Jim is a great person. Through the eyes of Huck Finn, Mark Twain shows that there is more to people then looks and race, showing the importance of beliefs and character.
Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn depicts how he is a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in his novel make slaves look like fools. Mark Twain does this purposely to make colored people look and sound like fools, because he is a racist person.
Mark Twain is a well-known novelist; his novels were a wide range from humor, details, and well-known characters. His most known literature, which are his classics include, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain’s notorious novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has been and continues to be very controversial due to the fact of him describing racism, yet not calling those acts racism.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain’s main characters depicted the societal issues of racism in the South. Huck Finn, a poor white boy, and Jim, an African American slave, both encounter situations that cause these characters inter turmoil because of the societal standards of the time. According to Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, events throughout the novel suggest that Huck is a racist to Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave, whether he knows it or not. Despite the fact that Huck travels with Jim, he does not care about freeing Jim from slavery. As a result, Twain’s purpose is more focused on the adventures Huck and Jim experience rather than freeing Jim.
The largest debate as to why the novel is a racist work is because of the use of the "N-word." Although there is an abundance of evidence pointing towards the theory that Mark Twain was a racist, therefore making the book itself a reflection of his ideologies, Huckleberry Finn is created as a form of social commentary, on the racism of the time period. As reflected in the essays in Satire or Evasion?, the perspectives on the views of racism in Huckleberry Finn vary widely (Arac 113) and it can be concluded that “there is no single ‘black’ position on Huckleberry Finn any more than there is a monolithic white one” (Leonard
Columnist James J. Kilpatrick wrote that Huck Finn is "a fun book for white boys to read. For black children, I have come to realize, it is a brutal slap in the face." He condemns the book because of its use of the word "nigger." Many school districts have banned this book for the same reason.
When taking a look at Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, racism is a large theme that seems to be reoccurring. What some may think to be racism in Twain's words, can also be explained as, good story telling appropriate to the era the story takes place in.
Literature has many different point of views, from which a reader can develop certain conclusions, theories, or ideas. At times those same pieces of work that inspire many can also bring a negative light onto others, resulting in the work being offensive. Many factors are taken into consideration when analyzing a work that causes a stir amongst readers, such factors as the author 's background, life experiences, encounters with different people, and also the time period it was written in. In the case of Mark Twain 's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, its literary content causes much conflict amongst readers and has sparked an ongoing debate. Many argue that the work promotes racism through the casual use of the word "nigger" which is derogation
Along their journey together, the readers realize that Jim is basically the father that Huck has never had; Jim cares for and protects Huck despite whatever may become of him. Huck returns these sentiments because he soon grows to love the slave, and their mutual affection is cemented when Huck is “ever so glad to see Jim” (41). With this, Twain urges the audience to see Jim as an equal and compassionate individual. By doing so, Twain shows how the society is corrupt and foul, as it is enslaving and threatening the life of a man who is constantly risking his own salvation to save the people around him. Huck comes to the conclusion that Jim “had a good heart in him and was a good man” (286). For example, Jim is portrayed as a hero when he selflessly saves Tom Sawyer’s life. Despite the fact that Tom has been playing with Jim’s life-and-death circumstance, Jim decides to risk everything for the child even though he is well aware that that he is jeopardizing his own freedom. Here, the “nigger” is portrayed as more of a man than any white person and Twain uses this to show how wrong and sinful slavery is. The concept of slavery itself is built upon the idea that one race is better than the other; racism does not take morals, ethics, or beliefs into account when determining
This essay will analyze the themes of religion, slavery, and democracy in the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. By exploring these themes that lie behind the book’s veneer, we can understand Twain’s objective for writing this book.
In this first-person narration, we are introduced to Huck. A young and uncivilized character that appears to be bound by what he knows as opposed to what the world projects. He feels rather confined by expectations of civilization and dislikes the social and cultural concepts of clean clothes, bible studies, spelling lessons, as well as manners. A theme of struggling for natural freedom on Huck’s part juxtaposes or rather mirrors Jim’s more important struggle for social freedom, freedom within the society. One of our central most talked about themes being slavery is prevalent throughout this piece by Twain, as Huck and Jim’s search for freedom down Mississippi, in a society comprised of hypocrisies, including religion and mostly the practice
...e end of the novel, Huck and the reader have come to understand that Jim is not someone’s property or an inferior man, but an equal. To say that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel is absurd, but there are always some hot-heads claiming that the novel is racist. These claims are not simply attempts to damage the image of a great novel, they come from people who are hurt by racism and don’t like seeing it in any context. However, they must realize that this novel and its author are not racist, and the purpose of the story is to prove black equality. It is vital for the reader to recognize these ideas as society’s and to recognize that Twain throughout the novel does encourage racist ideas, he disputes them. For this reason, and its profound moral implication, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be removed from the literary canon. [1056]