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How Should Huck Finn Be Banned From Schools

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“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, written by Mark Twain has been a major debate on whether or not the book is racist and should be banned from schools. Mark Twain’s theme of slavery and racism in this book is showing the readers that slavery is wrong, and how big of a problem it used to be in the South. Many people have different perspectives on this novel. In the book, the word “nigger” is used several times, and many people find it very offending and racist. These people believe that no matter how or why it's used that it is racist, and should never be said. This is not a good reason to believe the book is racist, because this is how blacks were referred to back then. To have used the word Negro or African-American would have taken …show more content…

The examples of the way Jim is denigrated: by being locked up, having to hide his face in the daytime and how he is generally insulted, are necessary for historical accuracy. Twain also never presented Jim in a negative way. He presented Jim as kind, had the most common sense, and friendly. “I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind…..he would do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was.” (Mark Twain 262). Jim was always the most kindhearted, but Mark Twain had to display the way Jim was treated in this manner, even if it is not the way he felt. Huck, however, does not treat Jim as most whites do. Huck looks at Jim as a friend, and by the end of their journey, disagrees with society's notion that blacks are inferior. Critic Justin Kaplan says, “Huck eventually recognizes slavery for the wild thing it was, and follows the dictates of his sound heart and commits a sin by helping Jim run away” (Justin Kaplan 315). Twain purposely made Huck the main character, to show that he doesn't believe in slavery or racism. In this book Jim has one of the few functional families in the novel. It's the thought of a permanent separation from his family that prompts him to escape. It's Jim's love for his family that affects Huck so strongly, causing him to realize that a black man is capable of loving his family as much as a white man. Jim is one of the most

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933 Words | 4 Pages

In the book "The Adventures if Huckleberry Finn", Mark Twain's writing mirrors the society and problems it had in that time. This book promotes seeing African-Americans as people, which is absolutely groundbreaking and unheard-of in the time it was written, right after the Civil War. Throughout the book,, Huck has a complete change in his feelings towards Jim, starting with his highly influenced young mind, only able to view Jim as a slave, all the way to seeing Jim as a father-figure who can protect and provide for him. Although Huck tries to see Jim as a friend and fatherly-figure, society's beliefs don't allow him to see Jim as anything but a slave.

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He would not ever get the treatment Huck did, and Jim’s character was never allowed to grow. Smiley catches the audience’s attention as she recognizes the racist remarks that Twain uses through his character, Huck, and how he forms Jim’s character. Smiley says that, through the book, Twain creates Jim “more and more passive and never minds, just like any good sidekick” (Smiley 460). As Huck and Jim never cross the Mississippi to Illinois, a free state, Jim just stands in Huck’s shadows as he is along for the journey, never getting his own voice in the book to stand up for himself and his freedom.

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1666 Words | 7 Pages

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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1254 Words | 6 Pages

Huck does not see Jim as a slave anymore he sees Jim as a friend and he treats him like a friend. Huck would of never done this at the begning of his journey or when he found out Jim is a runaway. He evolved his morality, Twain finished the book after the civil war he did not believe in slavery it

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1255 Words | 6 Pages

Many books have been censored or banned in libraries and schools across the United States because of their suggestive or inappropriate content. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, a sequel to the popular The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is one of the books that are being illuminated as “unfit to read”. It is the story a young boy, Huck, and a black man, Jim, in the 1800s, who ran away and their journey across the Mississippi River. It is a controversial piece in a majority of the classrooms across America. In this book, the N word shows up over two hundred times (Here's Why Banning 'Huck Finn' Over The N-Word Sends The Wrong Message).

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1124 Words | 5 Pages

Jim displays many father like characteristics towards Huck while on the river. Jim has a strong desire to keep Huck safe. During their trip Huck is approached by men who are searching for runaway slaves, and this makes him contemplate whether he should turn Jim in. Yet, Huck feels extremely guilty for even being curious on the topic and says, “S’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you feel better than what you do now? No says I, I’d feel bad” (Twain 69).

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724 Words | 3 Pages

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I could not understand people 's argument on banning this story that had gone way past it 's time showing the friendship between a black man and a white boy, which was almost unimaginable at the time in many people 's minds, and exposing the worst parts of humanity, showing that we don 't live in a picture-perfect world. While doing some research, however, I had found that most arguments against letting Huck Finn were because of the conspicuous and repetitive use of the n-word, as well as the extreme racial theme that is played out throughout the course of the novel. It all made sense to me then. As always America is again trying to cover up their insightful, but very real history, in hopes that it will be forgotten so that they can go on to be recognized as the

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774 Words | 4 Pages

Every day many of us are faced with the question, “Should I step in and help?”. Some of us immediately think yes and jump in to help, while others believe it is better to keep walking. The bystander effect happens when a person does not stop and help because they think someone else will. In these situations, some people stand up and respond to the crisis, because they are not worried about what will happen to them, but what will happen to the person in crisis instead. In the novel Night and the poem “The Hangman”, the bystander effect took place because people were afraid to bring attention to themselves.

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Nigger is one of the most controversial words in the world which makes Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a highly debated book. The story begins with a young American boy, Huckleberry Finn, running a away with a slave named Jim. As their adventure goes on they encounter a large amount of unfortunate events, such as predetors and racism. As the story comes to an end, Huck discovers Jim isn't a bad guy, it's the American's who make slaves seem that way. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught because it's educational.

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743 Words | 3 Pages

This book proves that not everyone who grew up around racism was cruel, as Huck began to love Jim for who he is, despite the society he grew up in. An example of Huck maturing could come from chapter forty, "I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor." (Twain 301). This quote clearly shows that Huck is maturing, and seeing past the color of Jim's skin. The book shows us how hard it was to grow up in a racist society and not be racist.

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815 Words | 4 Pages

Censoring the N-word in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a terrible idea with many consequences. Changing Nigger to slave only makes it more comfortable for people who can’t face the idea of past slavery. It also obscures view of what Mark Twain was wanting to. Changing the N-word completely disproves his idea of staying true to others dialects. The N-word should not be censored in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it changes the connotation of the entire book.

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233 Words | 1 Pages

In conclusion, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should remain in schools, the book is useful because it serves as a way to introduce race into a class discussion, the book can bring up “teachable moments” as described by David Bradley in the short clip of 60 Minutes. (Schneider). Censoring books by banning them restrains readers from learning and talking about topics that may be labeled as “controversial” or “explicit”. The “n-word” has a negative connotation due to the usage of the word in the past, it is often correlated with a disrespectful attitude, however this is controversial since David Bradley describes the complexity by comparing and saying “Rednecks can make jokes about rednecks”, this in other words says that one is not “allowed

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1123 Words | 5 Pages

Yet, Huck still does not think of him as an equal, and might not ever think this as result of his upbringing. It is frustrating for modern readers since we are raised to treat our elders with respect and seeing Huck treating Jim with such disrespect is irritating. Twain wrote this to show that Huck is, once again, loosening up to the idea that Jim is alright. However, he still thinks he is above Jim due to of the influence of society on

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1119 Words | 5 Pages

During the 1800s, Jim is a character who would commonly be thought of as dumb, but was actually characterized with higher levels of intelligence than many of the whites, such as the king and dauphin. Huck, who is raised with the notion that blacks aren’t as smart, comments that Jim “had an uncommon level head for a nigger.” (Twain 85) These snarky, racist comments portray how African Americans were negatively viewed in Twain’s time period. When Huck and Jim had the discussion on the Frenchman, Jim’s reasoning shows his wisdom.

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1482 Words | 6 Pages

Although the characters in the book are racist, this does not mean that Mark Twain himself is. Some people also suggest that the depiction of the character Jim is racist. “Jim is very ignorant and superstitious and speaks in a dialogue heavy with misspellings and mispronunciations. However, many argue that was the natural outcome of him being a slave with no formal education,” which is another way Twain was accurate to the era he was writing about (Gardner,

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