Huck Finn Argument Essay
Schools in Virginia have recently banned novels like Huckleberry Finn from their libraries for use of the “n” word. The novel, written by Mark Twain, has received many critical reviews for being racist. The reason is obvious, although it is rare that one word used in a book can receive millions of critical and positive reviews. The use of the “n” word is overused in my opinion, but since the story took place 20 years before the Civil War, people who lived in that time knew that word. It was the way things were dealt with at the time. To some, it would be incredible if they didn’t use that word. Mark Twain was not a racist himself. He was born in a slave state, Missouri, and his father was a judge. If you read closely,
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Huckleberry Finn was written to show the culture and lifestyle of the Pre Civil War era. Mark Twain shows his knowledge of slavery, and the Mississippi River. The book also shows Huck’s change in personality, and wanting to be himself. The book is about freedom and the quest for it. It’s about a slave who breaks the law just to be reunited with his family. A white boy helps him escape, so it can hardly be seen as a racist book. In more detail, a boy, Huck, fakes his own death so he can run away from his hometown to find freedom. “Because Mary Jane 'll be in mourning from this out; and first you know the nigger that does up the rooms will get an order to box these duds up and put 'em away.” (197) This basically says that all black men are thieves. This isn’t true or else Huck would not be breaking the law to try and help Jim. Along the way on the Mississippi River, he meets Jim, an escaped slave also looking for freedom. “For what you want, above all things, on a raft, is for everybody to be satisfied, and feel right and kind towards others.” (93) Huck has a dilemma. A dilemma is when you have two bad options. Jim is his friend, and an escaped slave, which is what he wants to be. He also is contemplating that he should follow the law and that helping an escaped slave is a crime. Huck helps Jim escape, which can never be described as being a