No Justification for the Banning of Huckleberry Finn 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. Since the Civil War, racism has been a very delicate issue with the American public. Whereas some people have tried to transgress this issue, pretending that race no longer plays a significant role in our country, other people still believe that there are serious racial dilemmas in the United States. I am one these people. However, unlike some, I do not believe this problem can be solved by avoiding or sugarcoating the issue of race, as James L. Kilpatrick and several schools appear to be doing. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain presents an adventure story filled with deeper meanings and controversial topics, two in particular being slavery and racism. Despite the usage of the word "nigger" and the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans, I do not think schools have any justification in banning this book from reading lists. Mark Twain wrote Huck Finn during the Reconstruction period in the south, at a time when most Americans wanted to forget all about the institution of slavery and its consequences. However, Twain set the time period of this novel prior to the Civil War when slavery was at its peak. Thus, the racist views he included in the book mirrored the attitudes of most southerners ... ... middle of paper ... ...acist attitudes prevalent in South at this time. For all those school administrators who say that the language and ideology of Twain’s writing is offensive, well, maybe Twain wanted to offend people with this novel. Maybe he wanted to offend them so much that they would come to the realization that individuals should not conform to society’s standards, one of these standards being slavery. Until someone is offended, status quo doesn’t change. Maybe it’s about time that we remove the blindfold from our nation’s youth and stop trying to be politically correct. Maybe it’s about time that kids are exposed to the true horror of racism and prejudice so to detour them from repeating fatal mistakes. High school students are neither naïve nor stupid; they can handle the contents of this novel, and hopefully, learn from Twain’s messages.
"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.
Nero was born in 37AD (Dennison, 2012), with the name, Lucius Domitus Ahenobarbus. When he was two his mother was banished by emperor Caligula to Pontian Island. Nero lost his inheritance one year later when his father, Gnaeus Domitus Ahenbarbus, died. When emperor Caligula died, emperor Claudius, a milder emperor, was on the throne. This meant that Agripinna, Neros Mother and Claudius’s neice, was recalled from exile and that Nero was given a good education, being tutored
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, commonly known as Caligula, was one of many problematic emperors of Rome. After conducting my research with various individuals in Rome, they mainly target Caligula’s cruelty, sadism, extravagance and sexual perversity.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is considered a classic novel from the realism period of American Literature that accurately depicts social conventions from pre-civil war times. Despite this reputation as a historical lens of life on the Mississippi River, elements of blatant racism overshadow the regionalist and realist depictions. Huck Finn does not promote racism because all derogatory or racist remarks are presented as a window to life during the 1850s, in a satirical context, or to show Mark Twain's moral views on racism.
Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to expose the hypocrisy of racism and religion in society. In the period he wrote the book, there were two contradictory belief systems regarding race: one stated all men were equal, while the other stated the exact opposite, as it stated all blacks were inferior to whites. This divided society into two groups: the “civilized” (whites) and the “savages” (blacks). Through his writing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain displayed his opposition of this arrogant and hypocritical belief system, a belief system that unfortunately still exists in today’s world.
Franzero's biography of Nero is very complex and controversial. Nero is renown as one of the most vicious, merciless, and least efficient emperors of the Roman Empire. Franzero's ultimate aim is to uncover and reveal the man behind the popular brutal and crude image. Nero is the last in the Julio-Claudian line of Emperors. Franzero's view of Nero is very unorthodox, often times in complete contradiction to that of popular opinion. He tries to reconstruct and reshape the notoriously popular image of Nero.
On the night of 18 July to 19 July 64 the Great Fire of Rome occurred. According to Tacitus a historian who lived through this period and recorded the fire in some detail wrote, “The fire spread quickly, and burned for five days. It completely destroyed four of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven others.” It was not certain who or what started the fire, but it was rumoured that Nero had planned it. Others said differently. A famous rumour was that Nero played on his fiddle while Rome burned, but this rumour was just a lie. However, someone had to be blamed, and because of rumours many held Nero responsible. Nero shifted the blame to the Christians living in Rome, and ordered all Christians to be killed. This is why Nero started persecuting the Christians in Rome at this time. It was easy for Nero to shift the blame onto the Christians, as Christianity was very new, and many people did not understand their views and beliefs; they ...
Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.
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.
Macksey, Kenneth. Military Errors of World War Two. Great Britain: Arms and Armour Press, 1987.
While Suetonius’s scriptures of Nero may pose a risk of bias, similar perversions were discussed within Edward Champlin’s ‘Nero Reconsidered’. Champlin discuses Nero’s descent into debauchery and malfeasance; how his personal exploits gradually began to corrupt his political and military affairs (Champlin, 1990). Nero began alienating and persecuting much of the elite for higher interests in personal concerns, as well as neglecting military advances and affairs completely. Nero’s exorbitant personal affairs and expenditures left the treasury thoroughly exhausted. His period was riddled with deflation as shortage of money began to emerge (Champlin, 1990). Nero’s adolescence and unruly upbringing was largely contributory to his inadequacy during his years as Roman Emperor. While Nero contributed significantly to the city, his reign demonstrated the unravelling of the Roman
Frances W. Kaye suggests that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an essential milestone in American literature. This powerful novel is structured around slavery and racism. Removing those elements from the novel serves to change the story itself thereby eliminating its effect. The novel wouldn’t be the novel that it is (1 of 21). Frances W. Kaye discusses the continuing significance of Huckleberry Finn, it emphasizes that the book marks over racism in the white society. She tells the reader that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is beautiful, cruel and is indecisive. The novel is the bondage of two people and their fight for someone’s freedom. She points out that readers must read carefully because this was written his Twain’s time and the language was different. She tells us that “nigger” was meant for black people back then so she has quoted us what Huck said in the novel “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?” “No’m. Killed a nigger”. “Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt. (Chapter 32)1 Frances W. Kaye tells us that if Twain opinion of slavery ends up being surprising, she believes that Twain opinion o...
Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is unarguably an American classic. It takes on themes such as: morality, racism, and friendship. This book is told by Huck, a white boy escaping a father who is abusive, and about his time traveling the Mississippi River with an escaped slave named Jim. My understanding is that this book has been taken away– in other schools– because of the use of the N-word. I definitely do not support the use offensive language in day-to-day speech or for the purpose of offending people. But, an important thing to remember is that this book was written in a different period in time. This book is a real representation of the south after the civil war. Although I don’t agree with what has happened in the past,
To start off with, to understand Emperor Nero one must understand the importance of his ancestry. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, in AD 37 . The combination of Gnaeus and Julia was like a match made in elite heritage for Nero. Gnaeus’ mother, Nero’s grandmother, was Antonia the Elder. She was the daughter of Mark Antony, one of the three members of the Second Triumvirate of Rome, and Octavia the Younger, Emperor Augustus’
Stroebel, Jeffrey T. World War II. Part I: Between the Wars. The Sycamore School, 1995. Revised 1998.