Mark Twain openly writes about this topic in his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Whether it should be read in high school or not, has been a huge controversy due to the high deal of racism in some aspects of the book. However, the history of humanity has many obscure phases, not only racism and slavery. If one would begin to avoid
Another person who argues against the works of Mark Twain is John Wallace and he felt that, “racism can only be undertaken by graduate level students”. Wallace believes that the lessons that Huckleberry Finn can only be understood by college level students. As far as one can tell, Wallace believes that the teachings are important but cannot be fully appreciated until a time after high school. This statement would be more convincing if the protagonist of the story Huck, wasn’t a young boy himself. Children in high school are closer in age to Huck than those at a college level.
With the novel being told in the first person point of view of Huck, we get a first hand experience of the prejudices then. We are able to see just how stereotypical and racist white people were in the past. A majority of the people in the south viewed blacks as inferior, or below them in social ranking. They ordered around their slaves and treated them with little respect at times. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can make students feel “uncomfortable," it is beneficial for students to read it.
That is what makes this novel so effective, and just for that, it deserves its eminent position in American literature. Overall, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a profoundly anti-racist novel that contrasts Jim’s clear humanity with the cruel actions of southern townsfolk in order to question racist beliefs. Furthermore, Twain’s ability to use storytelling to convey these themes make them even more powerful, allowing the reader to analyze and understand
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
Twains Criticism of Society at the time of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is an extraordinary story of growing up, morals, child abuse, con men, and a lonesome boy who must embody these themes and more throughout his remarkable adventures upon the Mississippi River within Missouri. Although Mark Twain 's novel embodies several themes, the most prominent underlying idea of Twain 's novel is his social criticism of racism as he explores the injustices society has inflicted upon the African American man while investigating the speciousness of a "civilized" society. The setting plays a vital role within the criticism of racial injustice at the time. The novel is set before the Civil War, between 1835-1845. Twain 's novel is a realistic representation of the cruelty of slavery and racism at the time.
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the reader gauges morality through the misadventures of Huck and Jim. Notably, Huck morally matures as his perspective on society evolves into a spectrum of right and wrong. Though he is still a child, his growth yields the previous notions of immaturity and innocence. Likewise, Mark Twain emphasizes compelling matters and issues in society, such as religion, racism, and greed. During the span of Huck’s journey, he evolves morally and ethically through his critique of societal normalities.
Huck Finn Literary Analysis The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, has become one of the most influential works ever written. The story takes place between the 1830’s and 40’s, following a young boy, Huckleberry, who is running away from his alcoholic father. He ran into an escaped slave, Jim, and the two decide to venture down the Mississippi river in hopes of fleeing their troubles. Throughout the novel Twain promotes many great themes; however, one of the most prominent themes that he places before the audience is A person’s morals will often differ from what society views as correct. Twain promotes this theme with his expert usage of conflict, language, and satire.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a very intriguing novel written by Mark Twain. The novel portrayed a story about slavery and Huckleberry Finn (Huck) who wanted to experience freedom from the constraints of people and authority. This Literary Analysis essays will convey insight
That 's just the way: a person does a low-down thing, and then he don 't want to take no consequences of it, (Twain, 163).” Huck knows that what he did was against the law and there are consequences for his actions. In the South, slavery was horrific and taken very far. Huck may have good morals and want to do the right thing but that does not mean he always does. Him faking his death and breaking the law to help a runaway slave are two perfect reasons for this book to be banned in schools. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned from schools because it has bad language, alcoholism, violence, lying, and breaking the law.