Mark Twain has often been accused of being racist due to his derogatory writings of African-Americans in Huckleberry Finn, but he truly is an uneducated satire novelist who is inspired by his own childhood experiences, travels, and political movements, to mock what is wrong within his society.
Critics such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People complained about the “N” language and the use of Jim the Slave in Huckleberry Finn stating that the book was racially biased, though Mark Twain clearly demonstrated racial equality in Huckleberry Finn when he stated “All right, I will go to hell,” and was unable to tell the truth and return his friend into slavery or when he stated “Just because you are taught something right, and everybody believes its right, it does not make it right.” He even went as far as having Huck and Tom do crazy things to free Jim from slavery, like stealing him and sailing down the Mississippi River on the raft. Due to angry critics, and despite critics such as Ernest Hemingway who stood up for him stating that” every part of modern literature is based on Huckleberry Finn” it was pulled off the library shelves in 1885 and the schools removed it from their readings in 1950.
Mark Twain wrote this book during a time when slavery was acceptable and the “N” word was used in the common language. A time often referred to by historians as the Gilded Age, which ironically was coined by Charles Dudley and Mark Twain, after their book titled The Gilded Age;A Tale Of Today, which told the story of Mark Twain's move from Florida to Hannibal, Mo, through the Hawkins migration and the greed that existed after the Civil War and Reconstruction period. It was quite common for Mark T...
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...tion to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn discussed human behaviors,
Aunt Polly (who was Mark Twains Mom) represented goodness and Tom represented the mischiefs boys would typically get into.
Bernard De Voto would further claim “More widely and deeply than anyone else who ever wrote books, he shared the life of America. Printer, pilot, soldier, silver miner, gold-washer, child of two emigrants, a pilgrim…
He wrote books that have something eternally true to the core of his nation’s life.”(Bradshaw, Rodney XXI1)
Therefore, he did not just speak up for slavery but against all wrongs that he saw done during his time period like social class and at times try to encourage humor by saying quotes like “For your race, in its poverty, has one unquestionably weapon-laughter….Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." (Mark Twain, Mystery Stranger).
"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain was first published in the United States in 1885 as a sequel to the book "Tom Sawyer." The book, which uses Huck's or the first person point of view surrounds the events of two runaways: Huck Finn and a black slave by the name of Jim. Shortly after publication, the book became controversial because of Huck's casual use of the word "nigger." Due to Huck's careless grammar and the book's controversy, libraries began to ban the book from their shelves. The first library to ban the book from their shelves was the Free Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts (Greenhaven Press 12). The book was banned from the Free Public Library shortly after publication (Greenhaven Press 12). However, "More than a century later, some parents, educators, and public officials still say that students should not be required-or perhaps even allowed-to read the book" (Greenhaven Press 12). Adults fear that the uncivilized Huck Finn would be impressionable on young minds, and may cause them to use "faulty grammar, play hookey, steal, lie, and run away" (Greenhaven Press 12). Others fear "that the use of the word nigger in the book is offensive, racist, and harmful to black students" (Greenhaven Press 112) "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a thoroughly debated book that should not be banned because it has transformed American literature, depicts a realistic look of race relations, and is a classic book that is loved by Americans.
Twain’s use of profane language, namely the inclusion of the word “nigger” over 200 times, is condoned by the exceptionally realistic setting it creates. For proponents of banning the book, the use of obscenities are seen as justification enough to ban, but according to United States federal judge John Woolsey, the obscenities are not in fact obscenities at all. Determined by the Courts, a book can only be found obscene if it stirs sexual impulses or is “dirt for dirt’s sake” (Woolsey). Neither part of this definition fits Twain’s writing. Twain uses vulgar language to realistically depict the Southern antebellum society in which the story takes place. The only impulses that Twain intends to stir are a person’s moral compass in an attempt to rid society of their negative outlook toward African Americans. In the Explanatory...
Mark Twain’s use of humor in the story mocks and shines light on the issues of our society’s political system from back then that continue
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
Have you ever seen the Colbert Report, The Simpsons, or even Family Guy? If you have then you have seen works of satire. In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, the author is famous for his use of satire, he employs this writing technique to ridicule and question fundamental aspects of society like religion, laws, and racism. In Huck Finn the portrayal of race relations is used to urge the reader to question the basic injustices of racial inequality.
How would you feel if an author published a book that contained a word that was once used frequently but has now developed into one of the most derogatory and unfriendly things a person can say? Since 1884, when the book was first published, there has been much controversy regarding the use of the word “nigger” in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Many people all over the world, predominantly the African-American population, feel that the word demoralizes the Blacks, and feel that the novel should be strongly censored from society. Some say that the constant use of the “n-word” forces the reader to conceive one of the main characters, Jim (Huck’s slave friend), as a buffoon, and it therefore embarrasses the African-American community through the use of stereotype. Although it may be hard for many people to read it without having a negative reaction, the censorship of this American classic would be preposterous. As one reads this novel, one can begin to notice that the main character, Huckleberry Finn, reached a turning point with his troublesome behavior and slowly but surely began to mature and settle down into adulthood. Mark Twain actually used the relationship of Jim and Huck to portray the moral values these characters come to learn and, therefore, his book should not in any way be censored or be kept away from the classrooms. This message is more powerful than the usage of the n-word in the novel.
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 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. Racism was and forever will be a dark part of the American past, and no one can change that, no matter how many books one may alter.
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 lot of people want to know about the writing of Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s writings are widely known around the world. ” English teachers are always saying that Mark Twain is the greatest author in American literature.” Stated Dr. Engel in his lecture called “The Genius of Mark Twain.” Mark Twain has been criticized a lot by people about his writings. Especially his novel called The Adventures of huckleberry Finn. The only reason he received as much criticism as he did for that novel was because one specific word. That word is powerful too. This word can be used by one person in the wrong way and shut down a community, a family, and maybe even a life. That word is the word “nigger.” We are not even going to get into that subject right now because that is not what we are here to talk about. People always
...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]
Most white people are dumb or uneducated. Mark Twain is not racsit in anyway it's just how it was back then and he was just showing us how it was. It was nothing to be racist like I said in my essay that taking the N'Word of out the Huckleberry Fin was like taking nazi out out texts book today. If you took it out it would take away the historical importance of slavery and how bad it was. Most of the black people are educated. Most of them have good jobs and are smarter than most white people. Also Mark Twain is involved in 21st century politics; when against the censoring of “Huck Finn,”.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is again being said to be a book you to wouldn't want to read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in a language and dialect that Twain heard a lot growing up in MIssouri. This writing type is call regionalism which means''a writing feature different to a certain region and not part of the regular language of a country”'.In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremist form of the backwoods Southwestern diale...
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an incredible novel. It is hard to believe that people would protest against it, but they do. Mark Twain set his story twenty years before the Civil War, during the slave era. It is written just as everyone spoke at that time, using the word “nigger.” This book uses the word a lot, which has upset many African-Americans. I believe that the word can be obscene, but in this book it is not. It only shows the reality of that time.
Mississippi Twain tells us of a man with a dream. As imperfection has it this
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.