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Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned

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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 …show more content…

Different types of literature open new doors through which students’ can explore the unknown and expand their knowledge of controversial topics. The great examples found in literature have been the subject of much debate, as school boards wrestle with whether children should be allowed to read such difficult, harsh topics, as said in the article “How Banning Books Marginalizes Children” (Source F). There are so many brilliant works of literature spanning a wide variety of genres and topics, and a single school board should not determine what students learn. No one is proposing that second graders read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but rather that we intentionally choose literature that will expand, rather than limit, children’s options and minds. Not only do these great works lay the groundwork for our future generation, but they also serve to diversify students’ writing and analysis skills. Toni Morrison effectively analyzed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covering different perspectives and ways to interpret the novel that displays a higher level understanding of a “challenging” text. Good writing and analysis skills are crucial for a variety of different tasks students will have to perform beyond school. Additionally, challenging literature offers a great opportunity for students to learn about censorship. As many books read in schools today are being censored, any opportunity for students to directly learn more about the issue is beneficial. In the article “Schools Can’t Ban Books Because of Complaints, Court Says,” Mark Walsh addresses a woman who wishes to discard of controversial works, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that provoke racial harassment in the school system (Source B). She wishes to withhold this information from students merely to protect the painful feelings evoked from reading such disputed topics. Censorship is an incredibly

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She looses the reader in her criticism, and it seems now the reader is learning more about Uncle Tom’s Cabin than the racist background of Huckleberry Finn. Smiley’s criticism was so strong and caught so many others’ attention because it had its own controversy against her own. This controversy was written by Justin Kaplan and is a good indication that Smiley got her point across in her own

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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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Banned Book Persuasive Essay The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic novel written by Mark Twain in 1884. The use of the word “nigger” is the main reason why it was banned in all school libraries. The reason to use the word was mainly used to stay true to the time period and the book is in no way racist, but anti-racist. The book tells a story of a white teen who is on an adventure with a runaway slave and slowly realizes that they are just alike.

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The announcement of a new, censored, version of Mark Twain’s classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sparked controversy across the United States in regard to which version would provide the best educational experience. Even though the revised publication may be more politically correct due to the replacement of the word “nigger” to “slave”, it dampens the milieu of the story. Additionally, the argument for censorship in the novel is flawed considering the social discomfort created from word “nigger” can be used to form an intellectual lesson or discussion. Alan Gribben’s edition of the novel is less literarily enriching because the unnecessary censorship worsens the syntax compared to the original publication.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deals with the social climate of 19th century southern America, and in turn, the complementary racism to anyone not white. Although set in twenty years before the book was released, it (and Mark Twain) received a lot of criticism for the novel by a society that hadn’t evolved quite to what Twain had expected. Ironically enough, the book is now banned for the opposite reason it was banned when it came out. The book was considered vulgar, through its language and through its actions. The idea of a white boy who would treat a slave as a human wasn’t taken lightly.

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Although “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War, America was continuously struggling with racism and postslavery effects, especially in the South. In the early 1860s, Reconstruction of the South occurred in which laws were passed to help integrate freed slaves into society, increasing the tension and conflict between races. One of the most prominent factors of society within the book, never mentioned directly, was the imposition of Jim Crow Laws and the Fugitive Slave Acts (“Jim”). These laws were passed to enforce racial segregation in the South, as well as to provide the return of slaves that escaped from one state or territory to another (“Fugitive”). Race relations

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I think Huckleberry Finn should be taught in high schools all across the country rather than in college. The reason it should be taught in high school is because it really shows how harsh real life is and the troubles people face every day. Also, it shows how life was like back in the day giving students a chance to relive the past most people want to forget. There are many views of this topic that are contradicting in this paper I will go into my view and explain my reasoning. Most people want to shield high school students from the harsh realities of life that they will eventually find out.

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To censor Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would not only do a complete disservice to the author himself, who chose his words carefully to convey a certain message, but

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Amongst the public The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been criticised for its literary merits, or the value in the writing. Recently, the public library has decided to add The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to its list of banned titles. This issue of Marks Twain's book has occurred in the past and had even been banned for the first time in just one month after its publication. Some of this uncomfortableness comes from the fact the book was written in a time where the language was different, as well as how it implements life situations and scenarios. As humans, we decide to hide certain materials from ourselves because we don't want to know what could or would happen and instead we decide to ban them in libraries in forms of books when

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With many adversaries in school districts across the country, publishers have begun selling “clean” versions of the critically acclaimed novel that replaces the N-word with slave. Although many would say that replacing some of the language in the book allows more students to read the novel comfortably, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should

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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).

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Huckleberry Finn In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates a rebellious and adventurous young boy, in Huckleberry, who just wants to get away from his abusive father, but then run into a runaway slave in which the two go on crazy adventures trying to get Jim to another city, traveling on a raft. Huckleberry Finn and Jim go and many adventures and encounter many different people and obstacles. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the most banned book, source federal appeals court states “ the most extensively banned book in the United States”, and it has to do with the powerful words they used and with plenty of racism that went on in the south. Huckleberry Finn is about thirteen or fourteen year old boy and has a poor

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A single novel has achieved being banned in hundreds of school districts and the topic of several heated debates. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain depicts the everyday adventures and struggles of a young boy growing up in the south during the 1830’s. During this time owning slaves was an everyday occurrence especially in the South, however this is put on the backburner as close bond is formed between Jim who is a slave and Huck. Together Jim and and Huck face several obstacles all of which bring them closer together which helps Huck in seeing that a friend is a friend and a man is a man regardless of race or titles.

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Negroes do not like it in any book or play whatsoever, be the book or play ever so sympathetic in its treatment of the basic problems of the race.” If true, how is Huckleberry Finn an exception? There are many accounts and complaints of white students acquiring foul racist behavior within Huckleberry Finn. One is the case of students racially abusing an African American child’s father after they have learned the novel.

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