Ethical Issues In Huck Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is one of the most controversial American books. It addresses issues like racism and parental abuse. The issue that has sparked the most controversy is the issue of the word, n*****, being used numerous times in the book. This issue has caused numerous organizations to call for a banning of the book in schools or at least for a change of the word, n*****, to something more politically correct like the word, slave. Mark Twain, through situations presented in the book, shows that this book should be read in high schools because it shows students that African Americans remained virtuous despite what culture thought of them.

In order to properly argue whether or not this book should be

Eventually, he reached the point where he had to choose between his friendship with Jim and what society viewed as the right thing to do, even if it meant giving somebody into a life of captivity and slavery. Twain had been building up to this situation throughout the book and as Huck fights with himself morally over whether he should write a letter to Miss Watson about Jim, he decides in the moral climax of the text, “I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute…and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll GO to hell’—and tore it up” (217). This proves that Huck, a 13-year-old boy having to make decisions most of us would never make in a lifetime, broke away from society’s influence over his perception of African Americans. In a society that thinks freeing a black man is enough to warrant a hell sentence, Twain manages to show that even people like Huck, who have grown up around racism, can break society’s mental grip on their own minds when it comes to seeing the determination to stay true to their virtues despite oppression.

Twain used situations such as these to prove the argument that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn educates students that African Americans acted with integrity despite the prejudice and hate they endured, during that time period. As scholars argue over the controversial racism presented in the book, Twain has already addressed them in the book itself. If this book wasn’t read in schools, this generation and those to come would forget about the perseverance to stay true to their integrity that a whole race of people showed despite being treated like