Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

There is a major argument on whether Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel or not and if it should be taught in schools. A great amount of people found this book to be demeaning to certain races and thought that Twain used racist words quiet loosely in this book. It was also thought the book should be banned from school reading lists because of the racial contexts. While others found The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a great book that reveals the true racism that happened during the pre-Civil War era. This is novel is about a young troublesome named Huckleberry Finn who runs away from his alcoholic abusive father with a black slave named Jim that ran away from his owner Miss Watson. Huck and Jim create this unlikely friendship on their way to a better life full of freedom. This novel Huckleberry Finn should continue to be taught in schools because it shows realism, satire, and a friendship between Huck and Jim.

One reason why Huckleberry Finn is not a racist novel is because Twain uses a great amount of realism throughout the whole book. An example of realism that Twain uses is that slavery and racism is constantly talked about throughout the whole story. Its constantly brought up being during that the time period slavery and racism was very popular. In the story Miss Watson shows an example of realism when she sells her slave Jim down to Orleans. “ I hear old missus tell de wider she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans but she didn’t want to, but she could git eight hund’d dollars for, me, en it’ uz sich a big stack o money she couldn’t resist” (Twain 43). The quotes shows realism in it because during the time setting of Huckleberry Finn it was common for...

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... his feeling but throughout the book Huck changes. He cares about Jim , he feelings, what he wants, he protects Jim too. If Huck Finn was a racist book Huck and Jim wouldn’t have the friendship they have in the story.

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain should still be taught in schools because it is not a not a racist book and it is important to be taught in school because it teaches students the reality of what happened during the pre-civil war times. Another reason why is it should still be taught in school is because if wasn’t taught in school students wouldn’t read about a fantastic friendship between Huck and Jim. All in the book is not racist because of the realism it presents through the story, the satire that Twain uses to make fun of society, religion, and racism, and last but not the unlikely-ness of Huck and Jim friendship.