Why Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned Essay

Huckleberry Finn Needs To Stay In Schools Did you know that Mark Twain’s The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most challenged books in history. In fact, it was banned within the first year of its release. Recently, schools have been banning the book and removing it from the curriculum due to the racial slurs within it and its offensive nature towards students.

One popular book that has been challenged for banning is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is about a runaway boy and his slave on their quest to the North for freedom. They face many obstacles and even though they never make it to the North, Jim is set free anyway. Although some people think that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned in schools, it should not be banned because the novel is classic literature that people can easily get their hands on, it shows what life was like for African Americans while slavery was still permitted, and the book teaches valuable life lessons. There is no point in banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it can be easily acquired by kids since it is a classic novel.

Which Version of Huckleberry Finn should be taught The novel The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain should be taught in schools. The old version is a part of history and we should keep it that way. I think that the youth of this generation is pampered and that their parents are overprotective.

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).

Ever since Mark Twain published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885, it has been one of the most banned books in America. Not only one, but many different people/groups have banned Mark Twain’s classic due to the consistent theme of race. The book is considered inappropriate because of how Mark Twain regards African Americans and Indigenous people. Historically, it is off of many school bookshelves because many may argue that the book even promotes racism. One month after the book’s debut in 1885, a library in Concord, MA stated that Twain’s novel was "trash and suitable only for the slums".

Should Huck Finn be read and taught in schools? This question has been constantly debated since the book was published 132 years ago. According to the American Library Association, it was number 14 on the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books list for over a decade. Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, contains language that may be considered offensive to some, but this should be overlooked because the lessons the reader learns are more important than the language it contains. By Jim’s kindness and love towards Huck, and the different characters that have impacted Huck’s life, readers can gain a deeper understanding of how racism can lead people to judge character too soon.

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.

Huckleberry Finn is taking place where slavery and racism is hugely used and courage. Even though, Huckleberry was not racist himself, he believes in the same rules as the society around encourage. When he has to be put to the test whether what the right thing is at what mind state Huckleberry Finn must decide. Growing up Huckleberry Finn is raised with a wrong heart and only has a mindset for two different types of people: slaves and whites. Huckleberry was now in a different position as he was a younger and now will make a different person with a different Heart a “Sound Heart”

Starting from a young age, everyone loves to go on adventures and have fun, just like Huck Finn. Growing up in St. Petersburg, Missouri, he is a white 12 year old boy and the son of a drunken father. In the beginning of the book, Huck is seen as a little innocent boy. Until he enters the world with his friend, Tom Sawyer, as they go on adventures, which creates problems and controversy through the history of the North and South, civilization, and racism and slavery. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck has many controversial experiences that are still a problem in today’s society, which is why we should keep teaching the book in school.

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

In the US high schools, this book has caused a lot of controversy as well. Some people are uncomfortable with the use of the word "nigger" and are against the teaching of the book in high school because the novel is offensive. Others argue that banning the book is taking away the freedom and causing censorship. Should the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taught in high school with all the racial issues that are caused?

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain utilizes satire to convey the overall message of the novel, that society is flawed; he implies one should refrain from orienting their personal moral compass and ideals by what others dictate, because society is imperfect. This is evident in Huck’s moral struggle with the concept of slavery: Twain uses slavery as an example to satirize religion and hypocrisy. He also satirizes “us vs them” mentalities through the example of the Sherburn and Boggs incident. He also mocks the baselessness and irony of racism in American society. Satire is used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn against religious hypocrisy, mob mentality, and racism to highlight these human flaws and address dark and serious issues with a touch of humor.

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).

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.

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. Dr. Sarah Churchwell of the University of East