Discuss The Use Of Nigger In Huckleberry Finn

The word “nigger” has been used in our society for a very long time. It has been used as a derogatory word for a person of color or a black person and a word for a slave. In the story Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain the word Nigger was used 219 times. Huckleberry (Huck) did not use it in a way that was supposed to be degrading towards black people. Pap used it in a way that was supposed to be degrading towards black people. Mark Twain did not use the word in his writing to promote racism. Huck was surrounded by racism in his community so it is hard to believe that he did not use the word as a way to degrade black people. Huck just heard the word all around him so he adopted it into his own vocabulary. Huck referred to black people as niggers, “Niggers would come miles to hear Jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any other nigger in that country”, (10). The fact that Huck

When Pap uses the word it is to say that the person is a slave and not a person at all. “Oh yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There is a free nigger there from Ohio-a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain’t a man in that town that’s got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane-the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the state”, (38). Pap talks about a “free nigger” and seems to cringe at the thought, he hates to think that a “nigger” could come close to the same status as himself or have equal or above valued items that he himself has. This story needs a character like Pap along with a character like Huck because it show different sides of the views white people had back then (1880’s). Then the two characters equal each other out because it shows the racist way of talking versus a different way of talking like the way Huck