Stereotyping In Huckleberry Finn Essay

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, develops morally over the course of the novel. In the beginning, Huck is dismissive of morality and sees no value in doing the right thing. As the novel progresses Huck starts to consider what might be the correct action, but only takes into account society’s understanding of what is a correct action. He [Huck] then begins to question society’s standards and eventually progresses to think for himself. Over the course of the novel, Huckleberry Finn matures as he begins to think for himself and question what the world believes to be morally correct.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel that takes the reader on a series of thrilling adventures full of life threatening situations, racism, and slavery. The author Mark Twain, uses the novel to highlight the flaws in society by creating a character like Huck, whose personal sense of morals and justice are more noble than those of the very people trying to civilize him. Throughout this captivating novel Huck endures his fair share of trouble and morally challenging decision but he always comes out on top by following his heart and doing what he feels to be right.

Life is like outer space, unknown and always changing. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes about the segregation, hate, and prejudice in a town called Maycomb. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of rape and doesn’t know what to expect. His attorney, Atticus Finch, an experienced, knowledgeable, and kind man, does his absolute best to defend him. However, the jury consists of all white males, most being racist and narrow-minded about the situation.

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim bond closely to one another, regardless of the fact that they belong to different ethnic groups. Huck, a coming-of-age teenage boy, lives in the Southern antebellum society which favors slavery. At the beginning of the book, Twain claims that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; and persons attempting to find a plot will be shot” (Twain 2). Ironically, through his experiences with Jim, the uncivilized Huck gradually establishes his own moral beliefs, although sometimes struggling against the influence of society.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic, it was the starting point for all great American Literature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been awarded all of these honorable titles because of its abnormal and controversial plot line. During the time period when the book was written, it was unacceptable to view African- American’s as anything other than slaves. They were viewed as inferior to whites and were treated like property, they had no rights. The main character of the book, Huck, disagrees and disobeys these norms and pushes the boundaries of society when he becomes friends with a slave from his childhood; Jim.

Huck’s character is one of kindness, naivete, and curiosity. Huck exemplifies being kind by knowing wrong and right. Huck sees the Duke and the King conning innocent townspeople and cannot stand to see the townspeople be hurt, so he tells Mary Jane, a young girl, that the town is being conned (Twain 132). Huck displays his naivete when he accepts the two men he meets as a duke and a king without questioning their story.

Huck Finn Comparison The person I am going to compare from Huck Finn is my dad and Huck’s dad. First off Huck’s dad doesn’t want Huck to be well educated because he himself is not educated. Also Huck’s dad does not want him to become civilized or sophisticated. Because he does not want him to be any better than he is.

The appropriateness of Huck Finn being used in a High School curriculum has been a widely debated topic since the time that it was published. Many believe that the book promotes racism and stereotypes and provides no value to students in the classroom. Being a High School student that has read this book, I strongly disagree with these negative views. Some might say that Huck Finn celebrates racist stereotypes because of the way that many of the characters in the book talk about and treat black people. For example, minstrel episodes, which served the purpose of making the audience laugh at minorities’ expense, and the frequent use of the ‘N’ word, are very offensive to many people today.

That is a question often asked by many but the meaning has considerably changed over the years. Huck’s decisions can often be seen by many and many can argue depending on the perspective, whether it is truly right or not. Huck’s choices, regardless of right or wrong, do have an impact on who he is and each one changes and shapes Huck in a different way. For example, in the book it states that "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim" (Twain, Chapter 16) - meaning that Huck, one of the only known white people to keep his promise to a black man or a slave, did ultimately what was right but not of that time period. This shows that Huck was not one to conform to society after truly living an experience with Jim.

Huck’s boyish innocenceis still pure and Huck still compromises the meanings of good and evil, and he resists all the customs and laws of the day that blur the distinction between human and inhuman, natural and unnatural, and moral and immoral. As wise as a serpent but as gentle as a dove, Huck is never fooled by all the sham and pretense that surrounds him always being the moral pure hearted soul that he really

In today's society, certain genders are given different roles to play from day to day. Unfortunately, the traits associated with both males and females are a distortion of reality in which we are told to conform to either unrealistic or rigid expectations. For example, as we saw the documentary The Mask I Live In, in which, social standards for my gender (male) were revealed to me, I underwent a realization of the unrealistic standards and rigid roles we are set to play. In more specific detail, alike to excerpt, we read from Guyland by Michael Kimmel we learn that starting at a young age, during our formative years we are taught how to “Be a Man” and what society expects from us, which conceal our true masculinity; examples include: “Boys Don’t Cry, It’s Better to Be Mad than Sad, and I Don’t Stop to Ask for Directions.”

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.

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. 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.

While it is true that the book is racist in many methods, it is also true that Twain, in the novel, was supporting the integration between the two cultures. By doing this, he uses Huck Finn and Jim as the symbolization of what we as an integrated society can accomplish. I believe Betty H. Jones described the concept best in her article Huck and Jim: A Reconsideration, in which she states “Floating along together, Huck and Jim are mentor and student, father and son. Symbolically, Huck and Jim’s dynamic, evolving relationship suggests the resolution of the nation’s problems.” This shows that their friendship could stand for a better future, Until Tom Sawyer appeared and drove their bond off a cliff.

Yair Pineda Mrs. May English 11-3 25 May 2017 The 1830’s was a time of racism. Ongoing debates over the peculiar institution of slavery had both proslavery and abolitionist sections fight over the morality if the issue. One example of where the issue is discussed in the the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, where the theme of racism, slavery, and freedom are brought into discussion through the medium of a slave named Jim. Twain states his opinion over the subject in his novel through use of satire to reveal the south’s stubborn belief of slavery, the morality concerning racism and its effects, and the cowardice of the Klu Klux Klan.