The announcement of a new, censored, version of Mark Twain’s classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sparked controversy across the United States regarding which version provides the better educational experience. Even though the revised publication may be more politically correct in the present day, it dampens the milieu of the story. Additionally, the argument for censorship in the novel is weak considering the social discomfort created from word ‘nigger’ can be used to form an educational lesson or discussion. The original edition of the novel provides would be a better a inclusion to an educational curriculum because it includes improved syntax when compared to Alan Gribben’s publication.
After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I could not understand people 's argument on banning this story that had gone way past it 's time showing the friendship between a black man and a white boy, which was almost unimaginable at the time in many people 's minds, and exposing the worst parts of humanity, showing that we don 't live in a picture-perfect world. While doing some research, however, I had found that most arguments against letting Huck Finn were because of the conspicuous and repetitive use of the n-word, as well as the extreme racial theme that is played out throughout the course of the novel. It all made sense to me then. As always America is again trying to cover up their insightful, but very real history, in hopes that it will be forgotten so that they can go on to be recognized as the
The reader can initially see this through the use of the word "nigger" that is all throughout the book. In the modern 21st century this term is taken offensively, but in the 19th century this term was commonly used and Twain took advantage of it. Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn when the word "nigger" was simply used as a reflection of what the times were like in those days, using it didn't not cause a second thought. Twain makes out a time when Dark colored individuals were not treated as human
To ban the book entirely was one solution to end this controversy. Last year, public schools in Virginia began a process of reviewing the book in order to decide whether it should be kept in classrooms and school libraries. This course of action started when a mother of a biracial high school student “filed a complaint with the administration, saying that her son had struggled to read a page in "Huck Finn" that was filled with racial slurs” (Beck). According to the mother, "This is great literature. But there (are so many) racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can 't get past that" (Beck). "So what are we teaching our children? We 're validating that these words are acceptable, and they are not acceptable by any means," she added (Beck).
American literature has always been a form of entertainment and education. When slaves were introduced as characters in books, they were always negative, stereotypical characters, but not until 1883 when Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a change made. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book about a southern white boy in the 1800’s that runs away with an escaped slave on the Mississippi River. For years, schools have been debating on if the book should be banned in schools or not, and it is already on a variety of banned lists. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned in schools because it is an anti-slavery novel that teaches students valuable lessons and informs students of the past culture.
Racial equality and discrimination is a founding issue that has been spread throughout every part of the world, To Kill A Mockingbird was written and published by Harper Lee in 1960, this time was dominated by civil rights protests and some of the first hippie movements following the crushing reality of the Vietnam War, the 60s also saw the struggle against segregation and racial equality. It is no surprise that the extreme political conflict affecting her life and world would greatly impact her writing and influence how she perceived the world during the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird. the influence of the fight for racial inequality is shown greatly in her book as she depicts the everyday life
In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, he utilized diction to illustrate the change in Huck’s view on slavery and more specifically, Jim; from believing that all slaves are subhuman and ignorant to befriending and respecting Jim as his equal.
In 1998, McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona assigned students to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book has long been regarded as a controversial novel, and each generation that comes upon it has found something that rubs against the current societal norms. The mother of a student at McClintock took serious offense to the use of the word, “nigger” throughout the book and protested that it be banned due to the racial discrimination (Source I). Huck Finn is just one of the many pieces of literature that have been labelled “challenging,” and many feel that they do not deserve a place in schools’ curriculum. However, the study of challenging literature introduces students to new ideas and lessons that they can apply
Throughout history, Americans have made a habit of discriminating against the minority population, and although there had been laws to change the equality, there was a lingering feeling of inequality in the Black population due to the continuation of segregation in the 19th century. After the Civil War, there was a political war against the rights of the Black population, causing many laws to form in argument of what a black man could do. Few court cases formed against these minimal rights as an attempt to gain equality, and although there were changes made in the laws, attitudes and desires towards the Black population hardly changed perspective.
Students should learn about the value the novel provides from that time-period in which Mark Twain wrote, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain put the N word in the novel for a reason, to describe the time-period in which these events had occurred. Phillip Rawls writes, “‘It’s such a shame that one word should be a barrier between a marvelous reading experience and a lot of readers,’ Gribben said. Yet Twain was particular about his words.” The use of the N word has brought many situations upon readers when coming across it, Rawls describes the idea that there was reasoning behind Twain’s writing. Peter Salwen says, “The great black novelist Ralph Ellison noted how Twain
Every person encompasses their own unique opinion. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck Finn possesses a conscience that makes him one of the most important and recognizable figures in American literature. However, Claudia Durst Johnson, a critic, believes that because of Huck’s actions the novel “is one of the most radical and darkly bitter books in the American canon. It represents the breaking of federal law as moral. It recommends disobedience and defiance on the part of young people.” This statement is disagreeable because although Huck does break the federal law as a moral, he does it for the right reasons. Therefore, making the great American classic not such a radical and darkly bitter book after all.
The black man on the back porch is afraid of the rattle snake because it is bad luck, or the innocent little slave is quick to believe everything one tells them at the drop of the hat. These are just some of the many racist stereotypes of the 1840s. A character named Jim is the star African American whom Twain bestoys the mission of being the stereotypical black man to prove a point. He along with his much more pallor companion Huck go on exciting adventures that unfold the events which expose the racist conduct of the time. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain saturates his novel with potent images of acute racism severe enough as to create a satirical mien that exposes the absurdity of prejudice.
“‘Tain’t no sin-white folks has done it! It ain't no sin, glory to goodness it ain't no sin! Dey’s done it-yes, en dey was de biggest quality in de whole billin’, too-kings!’” (Twain 15).
Many books have been censored or banned in libraries and schools across the United States because of their suggestive or inappropriate content. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, a sequel to the popular The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is one of the books that are being illuminated as “unfit to read”. It is the story a young boy, Huck, and a black man, Jim, in the 1800s, who ran away and their journey across the Mississippi River. It is a controversial piece in a majority of the classrooms across America. In this book, the N word shows up over two hundred times (Here's Why Banning 'Huck Finn' Over The N-Word Sends The Wrong Message). Since this book contains many racial slurs and violence, people want it banned or censored. Although, Huckleberry Finn should remain how it is because altering it changes the impact of the book, people will still be exposed to these slurs, and it is an opportunity to teach readers.
The adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a novel set before the Civil war, when slavery was legal and seen as the social norm, but written during post civil war. This novel demonstrates all the aspects or traditional America, as far from what it is today. Mark twain illustrates a lifetime were slavery and racism were seen as a natural part of life. Through incidents, comments by the characters and statements by the narrator 's Twain illustrates a satirical atmosphere on slavery and racism. The book is seen as a controversial element due to the fact that it contains many slurs and a language that is seen as vulgar and crude.