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Examples Of Racism In Huckleberry Finn

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In the Oxford Dictionary, racism is defined as “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.” Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been removed from classrooms or even changed because of the controversy surrounding it due to the idea that racism is evident in the novel. The book is said to be controversial due to Mark Twain’s use of racial slurs and his style of writing. Though through close analyzation, it can be proven that the book is not racist at all because of Mark Twain’s use of satire, his portrayal of the time period, and his themes that are evident in the book. With the help of these, Mark Twain shows his position on racism and help him get his idea across to readers. With his use of satire, Twain shows that he is indeed not being racist in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but pointing out flaws of human nature. There are several examples of Twain’s use of satire such as the scenes with the duke and dauphin where he expresses how much he dislikes human nature and how humans treat each other. Looking down on the duke and dauphin for their scheming ways, Twain eventually lets karma catch up with them, and they end up getting tarred and feathered for their wrongdoings, leaving Huck feeling remorseful for them. When Huck discovers they have been punished for their actions he says, “Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them …show more content…

His use of the language and attitudes was normal and accepted by the people of his time so it was expected that he would use the languages and viewpoints of the people in his day and age. This helps prove that Twain was not trying to be racist, but his themes also show that the book is indeed, not

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We know that Twain is not racist, but he did use the N-word to show what kind of people his characters were. Delila Lloyd wrote a document that addresses both sides of the issue, but one of the points that sticks out is "Take the N-word out of Huck Finn, and is it really Huck Finn?" (Lloyd). Huck uses the N-word because he grew up in a society where the word was meaningless, and was used to describe slaves as scum. The word practically means nothing, but not as in the word doesn't have a meaning, but in the sense that the people described as the word are meaningless.

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According to Raziye Akkoc, a writer for The Telegraph, the American novel “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [has been banned] because [of] its use of the N-word was not "inclusive" and made students uncomfortable.” Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn is about a young man that travels down the Mississippi river with a slave named Jim, and the many different journeys they encounter. Many people in society, however, have come across the question of whether or not the novel should be banned because of some of the vulgar language in Twain’s work. Even though it includes poor grammar and spelling, Huck Finn is a novel that establishes good morals, true friendships, and demonstrates the true historic time period.

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Race is a divisive factor in many populations. It is a concept to categorize people based on their physical traits, such as skin color, and genetics. Race can be used as a mechanism for social division. As the novel unfolds, Huckleberry Finn’s perspective on race changes as he sees the importance for equality in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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These reasons show why Twain may have intended to discourage racism. In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain it is a story of a troubled young boy and his good friend Jim. In the story Twain is not trying to portray racism toward the character Jim but rather is discouraging it. We see examples in the novel where Twain shows how Jim differs from other White men who cheat others, how he describes the white and black symbolism, and shows empathy for Jim.

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Mark Twain wrote in a way that could be misinterpreted. The language used in this book was a proper representation of how men talked during the 1880’s, it was not meant to be derogatory. Mark Twain did not intend to be hurtful towards the African Americans, but he did want to replicate how they communicated

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is one of America’s classics that takes you through the journey of the protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, and his friend and former slave, Jim, down the Mississippi River before the Civil War. Although this classic book contains all the requirements for a great adventure book that always keep you at the edge of your chair, many American schools decide not to teach or even ban the book in its entirety due to one word: the n-word. The n-word was formally used as a derogatory term towards African-American slaves, but in today’s society, the term is used by the descendants of these slaves as a way to call a friend. Throughout the novel, Twain uses the word 219 times, which has caused great controversy

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Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic and by many is considered one of the best bildungsroman novels of all time. The Novel was first released in England in 1884, after it had been rejected in the United States, after the book’s great success it was later released in America in 1885. It has been deemed one of the most controversial book’s ever written for it’s use of the n-word, which has caused it to be banned in schools and library’s all over the country, but is Mark Twain actually racist?

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Casual use of the N-word, unapologetic portrayals of racism and racists, and grotesque stereotyping, essentially , all the ugly reminders of a past we still find too uncomfortable to talk about in mixed company.(Ruta) When The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is approached with the attitude that Twain is a racist, there is, essentially, a moment of allowance for the contents. In the process of banning the novel, readers are blind to the realistic approach to racism that Twain allows exposure to. Twain serves as a fictionalized primary source, giving first hand, objective interpretations of the behavior of that time. Nonetheless, he is highly criticized by readers, teachers, and scholars alike for including this racism in his work: “ .”

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The black man on the back porch is afraid of the rattle snake because it is bad luck, or the innocent little slave is quick to believe everything one tells them at the drop of the hat. These are just some of the many racist stereotypes of the 1840s. A character named Jim is the star African American whom Twain bestoys the mission of being the stereotypical black man to prove a point. He along with his much more pallor companion Huck go on exciting adventures that unfold the events which expose the racist conduct of the time. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain saturates his novel with potent images of acute racism severe enough as to create a satirical mien that exposes the absurdity of prejudice.

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“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is a “satirical novel… that accurately portrays a time in history – the nineteenth century – and one of its evils, slavery”, according to the NAACP (their current position on Huck Finn). The nineteenth century was by no means an easy time to live through, even more so for non-whites. It was a cruel, harsh, and dark time for many people; the environment and living conditions alone are almost completely unimaginable for the children in our world today learning of these times, so how does any school, teacher, or parent plan to teach their children of the most inhumane, demeaning, and evil act of slavery? In order for our generation and for generations to come to be able to understand our own history

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There is a very high probability that when this book was introduced, it was met with significant controversy from both sides of the nation. In fact, Twain himself fought in the civil war on the confederate side and experienced his family members owning slaves. “Twain was born in Missouri, a slave state, and fought in the Civil War, however briefly, on the Confederate side. His father occasionally owned a slave and some members of his family owned many more.” (Getting Past Black and White, pg. 56).

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