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Huckleberry Finn Argumentative Analysis

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a book written by Mark Twain, has been a controversial book ever since it's release in 1885. The classic American canon is about a young white boy who ran away from his alcoholic father, faked his own death, and went on a journey where he met a runaway slave seeking for freedom, and together on a raft, they face obstacles, learn more about each other, and encounter new people. However, the book has been controversial ever since its publication due to the multiple use of the word “nigger”; although one can argue that it’s beneficial for helping readers develop both cognitive and non cognitive skills, some may argue that the drawbacks outweigh its benefits. Needless to say, despite the multiple use of the “n-word” …show more content…

However, craft and intent are two different things that are imperative for a student's understanding of classic American literature. Learning how to properly cite and analyze the novel not only will the student benefit from fully understanding the text, but he/she will also have a better sense of understanding towards the intention behind the text. The content of the book is far more less vital than the craft and the intent. The intent is what determines a student's cognitive skills. It takes full understanding of the text in order to properly and successfully pull out the intention of the …show more content…

According to Allison Flood, “The school’s principal told parents in a letter that “we have all come to the conclusion that the community costs of reading this book in 11th grade outweigh the literary benefits”, saying that some students had found the “use of the N-word” to be “challenging”, and that the school “was not being inclusive.”(US school stops teaching Huckleberry Finn because of 'use of the N-word) which specifies that some schools across the country are banning the book due to its racist theme and lack of benefits. Also, according to Andrew Levy, “ Huck Finn was never meant to be a dusty classic palmed diffidently by teenagers between the hours of nine and three.” (6 Reasons ‘Huck Finn’ Is Not The Dusty Old Classic You Think It Is) which indicates that although it is classified as one of the classic American literatures, it was never meant to be a classic that is widely read by students throughout the world. However, despite the fact that the author uses the “n-word” numerous times throughout the book and the book not being considered a canon, it is still beneficial for the young adults’ understanding of slavery because slavery in the book was portrayed from the author’s point of view during the time it happened. Likewise, the text itself is not racist due to the fact that slavery did happen, and

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Quotation Analysis “‘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). Analysis of Language: Twain’s diction and use of dialect is able to portray Roxy’s feelings.

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I also, dislike the use of the N-word. By using the N-word, Mark Twain allowed Jim Crow and Redemption to sweep the South. When writing Huckleberry Finn the author should had utilize his rights as a citizen to write, instead Mark Twain choose to ignore the amendments by using the N-word. How does a writer give his character a conscience when he as the writer chooses not to be conscience about addressing his black character

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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).

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Why Would a Good Novel be Kicked out of the Classroom? A trashy and racist book wouldn 't be allowed in classrooms. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is getting a lot of negative talk about. The dominant problem that students, parents, teachers, and even professors, face , is the usage of the n-word.

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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

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, why this book written by Mark Twain should be on the banned books list in schools and why it is too mature for it’s students. This book is full of situations that honesty students are not able to handle, leaving inappropriate impressions about racism and how to treat people and is going to cause teenagers and young adults to repeat the language and personalities seen in this, to other groups of this century that are fitting now The problem with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn’t that it is a bad book, not that maybe it is poorly written or isn’t a learning experience. The fact of the matter is that students do not hold the attention span or mental capacity to be forced to deal with this. While some may use to excuse that high school students may have enough knowledge over these situations, or if explained, people would enjoy the moral of the story more, that is not always the case.

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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.

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Julia Shanley Overton English 11 Honors- Period 4A 10/25/15 Huckleberry Finn Argument Essay Jim, a trusted slave by the household of Widow Douglas, is also a very gullible one. He displays several examples of cockiness, foolishness, and is made out to be some kind of comedic relief in the beginning of the story. When Jim is introduced, he is misinterpreted as non realistic due to his vast unawareness. This is proven many times throughout the book to not be true. Jim is actually one of the most important leading roles in the story due to his countless positivity to make things out to be not as terrible as they seem to be.

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There’s one thing about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn people don't agree on and it's the use of the n-word. Should it, or shouldn’t be taught in schools, there are multiple reasons why Huckleberry Finn should be taught! One of the reasons is how it shows the times back then, it gave people a visual on what “normal” looked like in the past. This book could also teach what the n-word actually means. Kids should be taught what it means in a school environment, not in the “real world” where they might not grasp the words' full meaning.

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Some argue that the book is racist, offensive and that it should be removed from school libraries and not read in classrooms. Others argue that the book is an important piece of literature that provides valuable insight into the time period that it takes place in, the issues of race and slavery, and that it should be taught and studied as part of a broader understanding of American history and literature.

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“It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.” (Chapter 15, Huck Finn). This is one of many phrases said by either Huck Finn, or the other characters in the classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For some years now there has been an argument on one word in this quote. People are fighting for the word, nigger, to be removed from Mark Twain’s book.

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In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird there is evidence of a racist past that is still brought up to this day. There are many lessons to be learned from this book that are still relevant today such as inequality in the justice system and underlying racism. In modern day society, historian Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor talks about how the “n-word” is used by many but most of the time people do not know the harm or history behind the word. I believe that Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is still relevant to this day and that it can help teach future generations to stray away from using the “n-word” by learning from its racist past. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird brings about the unfairness of the justice system for African

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lthough the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee contains inflammatory content, it should still remain in schools because it teaches the dangers of racism and hatred. The use of racist language throughout the novel conveys reasons for its wrongful removal. African Americans are frequently, almost always degraded and objectified throughout the use of derogatory terms in the novel. When discussing the details of Tom Robinson's "crimes," the barely literate and ignorant Bob Ewell remarks "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" (Lee 323).

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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.

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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.”

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