Why "Huckleberry Finn" Is Not An Appropriate Booke

889 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The adventures of huckleberry finn literary analysis

Remember school? Having work that keeps piling higher and higher as you go? Having to read books you never understood? Books that angered you and left you with migraines at such a young age. Well, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is such a book. And even worse one, at that. The irksome novel is unacceptable for young children, because it deifies impertinence and unruliness, teaches poor grammar, and exposes the reader to violent imagery.

Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is not an appropriate book for middle school because of the bad morals that it promotes. Unlike what some declare, Huck is not a teacher of morals. Huck is a bad influence on their young minds. Many children, when exposed to Huck’s rabid behavior, envy him and therefore, copy him. They see his life and consider it to be the glamorous life. Much like teens these days, and the atrocious celebrities seen on the screen. However, Huck is a more disastrous threat because he is their peer and was introduced to them by the school, the very place that is meant to keep them from doing wrong. So, it must be alright to be like Huck right? It must be alright to be “hated by the mothers of the town because [you are] idle, lawless, vulgar and bad” (Chicago Daily Tribune, 7). It must be okay to “admire him…and [dare] to be like him” (Chicago Daily Tribune, 7). Not only will they be influenced by Huck’s indecent behavior, but also to the King and the Duke’s. Huck’s “want to smoke” (Twain, 4) has led many a child to try smoking, which as we can lead to addiction. This addiction would have a stronger hold on them than the average adult seeing as the nicotine has less body mass to conquer. “The royal nonesuch” (Twain, 145) is an outright example of bad behavior rewarded by mo...

... middle of paper ...

...ttle between feuding families, a young boy named Buck is shot and his corpse is found floating in the river. Huck's companion, Jim, shows the deep welts of a whipping he's been subjected to. During a mob scene, a shooting and a stabbing occur. Repetitive risky behavior

Works Cited
1. Ron Charles. “Old Jim Can’t Never Rest.” Christian Science Monitor Jan.

18 2005: n.p. SIRS renaissance. Web. 24 November 2009

2. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/159759262.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Nov+7%2C+1982&author=By+MICHAEL+PATRICK+HEARN&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=BW18&desc=The+Misadventures+of+Huckleberry+Finn

3. "Finishing the Civil War: Huck Finn in Racist America," Young Spartacus (Summer 1982): 12.

Article from: Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque) Article date: February 25, 2007 Author: JOANN LOVIGLIO

Show More
Related

  • Should Huck Finn Be Banned Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn’s unique ability to incorporate moral lessons through satire and simmilar literary techniques prove it to be vital for High school students, especially at Rye, to read. The vast nature of things it teaches is something very rare for one book to do. It not only provides the reader with important life themes like other great novels do but it also shocks the reader to show the power of racism which makes it one of the greatest pieces of literature of all time. Just think of how different things would be if no one had read such an important book.

    Read More

  • Should Huckleberry Finn Be Taught In Schools

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Twain makes the reader look at society in a different lens. When reading Huckleberry Finn the reader is transported back in time to America during the 1840s. The reader meets Huck and Jim, two unlikely friends who are both in bondage with society. Olsen says that literature shapes the way people view the world by exploring different viewpoints. These viewpoints include society’s view about slavery at the time, and Hucks changing view about Jim even though he is a slave. High school students are mature enough to think about the points Twain is trying to make about racism and society through his themes and satire. Simmons states in his article that, “It seems fairly obvious to me that as students mature, they benefit by thinking critically about literary texts.” DelFattore says in her article, “Being required to confront difficult, embarrassing, and controversial matters and learn how to deal with them does not constitute a hostile learning environment. It constitutes an education” (DelFattore). Through reading Huckleberry Finn students begin to develop and question society and the prejudices that still exist. Students need to be given the opportunity to read this book and think about it critically so that they can learn to address important issues and how to work through

    Read More

  • The Integrity and Strength of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    When one is young they must learn from their parents how to behave. A child's parents impose society's unspoken rules in hope that one day their child will inuitivly decerne wrong from right and make decisions based on their own judgment. These moral and ethical decisions will affect one for their entire life. In Mark Twains, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is faced with the decision of choosing to regard all he has been taught to save a friend, or listen and obey the morals that he has been raised with. In making his decision he is able to look at the situation maturely and grow to understand the moral imbalances society has. Hucks' decisions show his integrity and strength as a person to choose what his heart tells him to do, over his head.

    Read More

  • Why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Banned

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...t"(Mullen 1). We need to remember and acknowledge the fact that these young people are juniors and seniors who differ in ages from 16 to 18 and in some cases are halfway to legal adulthood. The students reading this novel can make decisions for themselves based on what they know as right or wrong. Reading Huckleberry Finn one time in their literature class will not change that.

    Read More

  • Flaws In Twains Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    the time when Huck says, “It's me. George Jackson, sir”(pg. 95). I do have to

    Read More

  • The Censorship Of Huck Finn

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn has been called one of the greatest pieces of American literature, deemed a classic. The book has been used by teachers across the country for years. Now, Huck Finn, along with other remarkable novels such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, are being pulled off the shelves of libraries and banned from classrooms. All the glory this majestic piece by Mark Twain has acquired is slowly being deteriorated. This is

    Read More

  • The Controversy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is a novel that is read by many students in high school classes all across America every year. However, when you have a book that popular among schools, you will start to gain some controversy over it. There has been a recurring debate over the topic of banning this novel from being read in schools due to its 'offensive racial epithets' and other reasons, like poking fun at religion and challenging authority. I disagree with those who say the novel should be banned, and believe that schools should continue to read it and disregard those who say otherwise.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn: A Journey in Morality

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn explores the morality of Huckleberry Finn, a daring, young teen growing up in Missouri, who rafts down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. While Huck travels, he is met with many adventures and problems that test his morality such as deciding whether or not to turn Jim, a runaway slave, into Miss Watson, Jim’s owner. When faced with challenges, Huck constantly makes the right choice. Yet, because Huck lacks a civil upbringing, he never recognizes his morality and believes himself to be a degenerate even though he demonstrates sound virtue.

    Read More

  • Hucklebery Finn by Mark Twain

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been banned from many high school classrooms over the years. This novel by author Mark Twain is one of the most controversial books in the United States. Huck Finn should not be removed from high school curriculums for mature students. Twain’s writing not only exposes the vices of 19th century Southern society and teaches about topics that spark debates, it also opens students’ eyes to social issues that are still problems in today’s society. Mature students should be exposed to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the classroom setting.

    Read More

  • Huck Finn is NOT a Racist Novel

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are mixed feelings regarding Huck Finn being taught in elementary schools. On one hand, its themes might be a little too mature for a child’s delicate psyche, confusing them on what is right or wrong. At the same time, one could argue that teaching it early in development allows adolescents to see the evils of slavery, so any potential prejudice can be abolished at a young age, thus reducing the number of hate crimes ...

    Read More

  • Prejudice and Racism in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.

    Read More

  • The Refusal of Conformity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." SparkNotes Mobile Web Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Realism and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an immensely realistic novel, revealing how a child's morals and actions clash with those of the society around him. Twain shows realism in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, that of the characters, and even the way characters speak. Twain also satirizes many of the foundations of that society. Showing the hypocrisy of people involved in education, religion, and romanticism through absurd, yet very real examples. Most importantly, Twain shows the way Huckleberry's moral beliefs form amidst a time of uncertainty in his life.

    Read More

  • The Controversy Around Banning Books

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Why "Huckleberry Finn" Is Not An Appropriate Booke

Open Document