Huckleberry Finn Language Essay

There are certain words that people do not like to hear. Words that are better to be silent. Others prefer a more respectful word when referring to a person. As a class, we recently read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which is consider to be one of the greatest works in American literature. The use of Twain’s language throughout the book, for some, can be offensive and for others, it can be relatively normal. Normal because at the time Twain wrote the book, white southerners would talk the way Huck’s character speaks. Mark Twain specifically uses a certain word that “catches” the attention of several teens reading this book. To sum up, the book is about the adventures of a twelve year-old boy and a black slave named Jim.

It is a history that nobody want to relive”. And its true. African AMericans were treated in a cruel way and they have come a long way. Barack Obama was the first African American to be elected as President of the United States. This is what the teen refers to when saying h the nobody wants to relieve the struggle and shame African Americans had to go through. They are in a good place now. Students, especially African American students, do not like to hear the N-word because they feel shame, but they shouldn’t. Black people have overcome times of adversity in which they do not need to hear the N-word constantly. They believe that the novel by Mark Twain presents to much racism when referring to Jim with that specific word (Foley). Those people have nothing to be ashamed of because those times have already past. We as high school students read this book to learn about the partnership of how Huck and Jim developed as just more than a white boy with a slave but how their friendship came to be. Detractors of the original novel might be against Twain’s use of language, but the key to understanding Huckleberry Finn, is “through Twain’s use of language”