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The adventures of huckleberry finn analysis essay
Mark twain's importance in american literature
Mark twain's importance in american literature
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Huckleberry Finn is Not a Racist Work
“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.
Racism is a racial preconceived judgement or notion (Mish 963). Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn does not contain this preconceived notion. While some people might argue that Huckleberry Finn is “The most grotesque piece of racist trash ever written,” (Wallace) it is actually the exact opposite. Huckleberry Finn is a fight against racism. “The novel is actually condemning the segregative system and unequal conditions in ...
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Bibliography:
Bearak, Barry. “Huck’s Adventurous 100 Years.” Newsday. May 8, 1984: p 55.
Bucci, Richard. “Is Huck Finn a Racist Wok?” Newsday. May 10, 1985: p 99.
Churchill, Winston. Class notes May 1997.
Cryer, Dan. “Twain’s Classic Before Revisions.” Newsday. October 15, 1996:
p 100.
Lauriat, Lane Jr. “Why Huckleberry Finn is a Great World Novel” College English
October, 1955: pp 292-304.
Loeffler, Mr. Class-notes May 1997.
Meyers, Michael “Black Book Banning.” Newsday. May 12, 1985: p 67.
Mish, Frederick C. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition
Massachusetts, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
Morrow, Lance “In Praise of Huck Finn.” Civilization. January/February 1995:
pp 25-27.
“View of Slavery Still a Hot Topic”
Wallace, John “The Huckleberry Finn Controversy.” Nightline January 17, 1985:
Racist Trash vs. Deeper Reading How many years have passed since public discrimination against blacks ended? How many times have you personally heard someone make fun of someone because they are black within the past five years?
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).
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
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain, published in 1884, and according to Alison Flood in the article US school stops teaching Huckleberry Finn because of 'use of the N-word', “one of the most-challenged [novels] of all time.” The story depicts the relationship between a young white boy who is running away from home and a grown slave who is running away to escape slavery. The novel focuses on Huck Finn growing up pre-civil war in deep and very racist south. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stop being taught to high schoolers because it is too open to interpretation, and doesn't
Is the Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Racist or Not? The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist book. The main arguments against it are the characters’ personalities and the dialect they used. This book is criticized by Twain critics and on the top ten ban list for school reading material. If people just concentrated on the main plot of the story, instead of the fine details that makes the novel realistic, they would agree that the accusation of this novel being racist is ridiculous. Huck Finn was abused by his father all throughout his childhood.
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,
Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question focuses on the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and the way he is treated by Huck and other
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. Twain himself has been suggested as a racist based on the fact that he uses the word "nigger" in his book. However, Twain was an avid abolitionist. For those who claim that Twain was a racist, they must have only been looking out for themselves and not those who are willing to learn about the past, whether it be ugly or perfect.
Huck Finn does not promote racism. All racist comments are merely historically realistic or are to be taken with a satirical manner. Twain uses the novel to morally fight racism. More volumes of Twain's Autobiography will be published in coming years according to his will (Auto). His true feelings may then be fully understood. Until then Huck Finn will be the subject of debate. However, no amount of debate could upset the novel's position as one of the most definite works in American history (Fishkin, 1993).
A majority of people in American society believe that school systems must teach children that racism is morally wrong. Often, however, tension has builds over how to teach this important lesson. Unfortunately, a controversy has built over the teaching of Huckleberry Finn. Although some believe that Mark Twains' novel perpetuates racist feelings, in fact Twain uses the characters to demonstrate the immorality of slavery. Miss Watson and Pap, the reprehensible objects of Twains' satire, demonstrate the racist views that society takes towards slaves. The slave Jim, who may appear stereotypically ignorant, in reality represents the true goodness and humanity which society impedes upon with its racist views. Huck shares the racist views about slaves until his friendship with Jim teaches him what Twain, himself, believes: that those society refers to as "niggers" deserve to be perceived as intelligent and honorable individuals. Huckleberry Finn should be incorporated into the curriculum of school systems because it is imperative that teachers instill the immorality of racism into the youth they teach.
When classes learn about Huckleberry Finn it is not read for the enjoyment of reading. It is used to teach students about racism and explain how Mark Twain could possibly be called a racist. But if you were to treat the whole book as a racist book you would miss the entire point of his story. Back when I read this book in class last year, much of the discussions I had with others was based on whether or not the book is considered to be racist.
Around the world, there have been a plethora of arguments about subjects of racism, freedom of speech and censorship in classrooms. As seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there is much controversy over the use of racist language and how different races are described. Some believe it is useful to read the novel, while others perceive differently.
In Toni Morrison's essay, From Introduction to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn she talks about the issue of people wanting to remove Huckleberry Finn from public schools' reading lists and the libraries. Morrison raises the argument of race in this essay. This argument about race is one that still faces the world today. Morrison argues that because this argument is one that preoccupies us today we need to keep reading it. In her essay Morrison goes against the people who claim that Huckleberry Finn is racist. Morrison praises this book and holds it to the highest of standards. Morrison's opinion on this novel is made clear in her statement, “The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn is that it is the argument it raises” (pg 322).
...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]