Discrimination In Mark Twain's Huck Finn

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.

Although he considers turning Jim in and struggles against the constant thought because society would get angry “that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom” and he would be condemned “to everlasting fire” , we see a person able to defeat mainstream conventions and strive for what he as an individual believes stands as truly right (HF. Chp 31). Smiley claims that the story is only “lighting out for the territory" for racism, but without first convincing the majority of people to judge people by their value rather than what

Twain’s portrayal of Americans--including common townspeople and Huck’s father--combine with Jim’s ironic false enslavement to shed

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.

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. Incidentally, one way that Twain used diction to highlight such change in Huck was in his choice and usage of the word “n*****”. Considering this, in Chapter 16, Huck habitually uses the n-word to refer to Jim rather than calling him by his name. Huck also utilizes phrases such as , “Give a n***** an inch

He would not ever get the treatment Huck did, and Jim’s character was never allowed to grow. Smiley catches the audience’s attention as she recognizes the racist remarks that Twain uses through his character, Huck, and how he forms Jim’s character. Smiley says that, through the book, Twain creates Jim “more and more passive and never minds, just like any good sidekick” (Smiley 460). As Huck and Jim never cross the Mississippi to Illinois, a free state, Jim just stands in Huck’s shadows as he is along for the journey, never getting his own voice in the book to stand up for himself and his freedom.

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the racist attitudes of the Deep South in the late 1800's are shown. Mark Twain portrays a runaway slave, Jim, as a racist caricature who does whatever is asked of him and exhibits little intelligence.

Jim is a slave who had escaped with Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn introduces Jim by saying, “Miss Watson’s big n*****, named Jim, was setting in the kitchen door; we could see him pretty clear, because there was a light behind him.” (35). This quote is important because it is the first time where the n-word is mentioned in the book. It is exactly a representation of this time period because there were slaves at the time.

Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” She describes that the future of our world has to be aware of things that have happened in the past, such as racism. The NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a civil rights organization that displayed their position on this certain situation. The NAACP position is correct in that Mark Twain’s un-sanitized version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught because the book describes the important awareness of the historical oppression of people, it provides a value of morality from that time period that students should learn, and gives an important lesson about race that should be taught to students.

Jim’s Minstrel Mask Slaves in the 1800s were seen as dim, ignorant people, underestimated by the white culture. In Huck’s story, the reader can see a different side of slaves. A side that has not been shown in history textbooks, or taught frequently by teachers of the sort. Jim in the novel demonstrates the cleverness, the quick-wittedness, and the overall intelligence of an individual in the face of extreme adversity.

Mr. Clemens uses some language that is highly frowned upon today, but was used quite commonly and wasn’t thought of as evil, when the story itself took place, in the middle 1840s. During this time slavery in the United States had nearly reached its peak, a time when Huck Finn was taught that slavery was the right thing, that turning in escaped slaves was the right thing; ideas that we now see as revolting. I can understand your reservations against this book, but the reasons you give to attack this book are revolting in themselves. The story as it follows Huck, follows how much the idea of slavery bothers him, how deep down in his heart he knows that slavery is wrong, and that the discrimination that Jim faces is wrong. Huck fights with himself against everything that he has been taught, even going so far as to agree to eternal damnation in order to save Jim.

For Jim being a slave, he is separate from society based on the fact that whites do not see blacks as equals. For example, after Huck raids the wrecked ferryboat and calls it an adventure, Jim replies with not wanting adventures because there is a chance of him being caught and sold back into slavery. Hucks reaction to Jim’s knowledge was surprising since he didn 't believe a black man can have such a level head (Twain 76). In the same sense, it is seen as morally incorrect for him to have any common knowledge equivalent to a white person. Society values depriving one of their human qualities such as intelligence and since Jim differs in race, it is seen as okay.

Race is a divisive factor in many populations. It is a concept to categorize people based on their physical traits, such as skin color, and genetics. Race can be used as a mechanism for social division. As the novel unfolds, Huckleberry Finn’s perspective on race changes as he sees the importance for equality in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

For the reason that the n-word appears 219 times in the novel, many schools have decided to ban the book in their classrooms. Cautiously questioning students whether or not the novel arouses an “uncomfortable” (Coeyman) feeling, teachers debate on teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Multiple teachers feel that their inter-racial classes may include students who feel offended by the n-word. Various schools have considered the novel to be “...too racially offensive…”(Coeyman). For instance, school districts in Virginia have banned the book after a mother complained about how her son was disturbed by the “‘...racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past…’”(Balingit).

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).