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Huckleberry Finn Research Paper

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a literary classic that has been censored and rewritten throughout the ages. Shrouded in controversy, Huck Finn has been banned since the day it was published. The reasons for this vary by the time period, and lately it has been banned because of its repeated use of the racial slur “nigger”. Many schools have taken The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn off of their required reading lists and have thus tucked this issue under the rug and forgotten about it. They forget how this historical literary classic has paved the way for other American literature and refuse to teach it because it is simply “too offensive”. Although Huckleberry Finn is a controversial novel that uses “nigger” excessively, you cannot …show more content…

They know what it is, when it happened, and what demographics were affected. Their history classes have taught them the textbook definitions of what slavery and racism are. But do they really, truly understand how it has affected our culture and history? Do they really understand what it was like to experience dehumanization of an entire race? No. Of course not. Students are not able to experience firsthand the effects of racism, so the only experience they can get is through literature of that time. Mark Twain wrote about these topics that teachers of this age find hard to discuss. Jane Smiley in “Literature’s Dual Life in the Case of Huckleberry Finn” explains that “when a nation’s history is fraught with conflict” it is best to “talk it out” because these subjects are meant to be difficult and the only way to bring true understanding of it is to analyze it (Source K). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an irreplaceable tool to help understand the true historical context of such difficult issues. David Matthews in “Dumbing and Numbing Down Jim” clarifies that even removing the offensive words in the novel takes away from the actual meaning and history behind the story (Source F). When you take out all of the offensive parts of Huckleberry Finn, you are left with a runny, watered down version of history. The reason why it is offensive is to make you angry and shocked and embarrassed about your

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For the reason that the n-word appears 219 times in the novel, many schools have decided to ban the book in their classrooms. Cautiously questioning students whether or not the novel arouses an “uncomfortable” (Coeyman) feeling, teachers debate on teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Multiple teachers feel that their inter-racial classes may include students who feel offended by the n-word. Various schools have considered the novel to be “...too racially offensive…”(Coeyman). For instance, school districts in Virginia have banned the book after a mother complained about how her son was disturbed by the “‘...racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past…’”(Balingit).

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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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Everyone needs a coping mechanism to overcome their problems and in Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese the protagonist Saul uses hockey to escape his issues. There is racism still torments people all around the world to this day, and this is no different for Saul, who experienced racism from a young child to a young adult. In Indian Horse Richard Wagamese describes Saul’s journey with hockey, at St. Jerome’s he was first introduced to the game by Father LeBoutillier, he used this hobby to escape from his problems, later leaving and joining the Moose, a community filled with other Ojibwe players, lastly, his hobby turned more into frustration with joining the NHL, highlighting how hockey was both a gift and a curse to Saul.

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In 1998, McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona assigned students to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book has long been regarded as a controversial novel, and each generation that comes upon it has found something that rubs against the current societal norms. The mother of a student at McClintock took serious offense to the use of the word, “nigger” throughout the book and protested that it be banned due to the racial discrimination (Source I). Huck Finn is just one of the many pieces of literature that have been labelled “challenging,” and many feel that they do not deserve a place in schools’ curriculum. However, the study of challenging literature introduces students to new ideas and lessons that they can apply

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American literature has always been a form of entertainment and education. When slaves were introduced as characters in books, they were always negative, stereotypical characters, but not until 1883 when Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a change made. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book about a southern white boy in the 1800’s that runs away with an escaped slave on the Mississippi River. For years, schools have been debating on if the book should be banned in schools or not, and it is already on a variety of banned lists. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned in schools because it is an anti-slavery novel that teaches students valuable lessons and informs students of the past culture.

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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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Huckleberry Finn Needs To Stay In Schools Did you know that Mark Twain’s The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most challenged books in history. In fact, it was banned within the first year of its release. Recently, schools have been banning the book and removing it from the curriculum due to the racial slurs within it and its offensive nature towards students.

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Starting from a young age, everyone loves to go on adventures and have fun, just like Huck Finn. Growing up in St. Petersburg, Missouri, he is a white 12 year old boy and the son of a drunken father. In the beginning of the book, Huck is seen as a little innocent boy. Until he enters the world with his friend, Tom Sawyer, as they go on adventures, which creates problems and controversy through the history of the North and South, civilization, and racism and slavery. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck has many controversial experiences that are still a problem in today’s society, which is why we should keep teaching the book in school.

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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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641 Words | 3 Pages

In the US high schools, this book has caused a lot of controversy as well. Some people are uncomfortable with the use of the word "nigger" and are against the teaching of the book in high school because the novel is offensive. Others argue that banning the book is taking away the freedom and causing censorship. Should the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taught in high school with all the racial issues that are caused?

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947 Words | 4 Pages

"I believe that Huckleberry Finn is one of the great masterpieces of the world..." a quote from H. L. Mencken. Many people believe Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools, but then on the other hand many believe it shouldn’t for its vulgar language. A handful of people are offended by this book, they complain and say it’s not appropriate for high school students (Powell, Fight over Huck Finn). When the students have heard more explicit language than what is used in the book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful tool for education because it shows many life lessons through the characters of Jim the slave, the Duke and the Dauphin, and Miss Watson and Widow Douglas.

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The word ‘nigger’ is used 219 times throughout Mark Twain’s novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. This fact, along with Twain’s depiction of Jim and subtle attack on religion, has offended not only multitudes of African-Americans, but also the Catholic Church. Twain’s novel has simultaneously revolutionized American literature and become one of the most frequently banned books in history. ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ was extremely provocative from its very publication, as its themes of rebellion, disobedience, and interracial friendship were thought to corrupt young children. In recent years, debates have no longer centered around Huck’s disobedience but implications of racism and anti-religious allusions.

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The constant usage of the n word can be demeaning and harmful to African American students — in 1995, a group of African American students in Cherry Hill, NJ suddenly began failing tests and quizzes in their English class. This happened as a result of an incompetent teacher, who forgot to mention the 200 plus instances of the n word and the fact that the book was controversial. And to make matters worse, the white students would snicker and stare at the African American students when the n word was read aloud. (Document E) This should not be the case — I was lucky enough to have a teacher who would make sure to make reading Huck Finn as comfortable as it would aloud.

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In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the racist attitudes of the Deep South in the late 1800's are shown. Mark Twain portrays a runaway slave, Jim, as a racist caricature who does whatever is asked of him and exhibits little intelligence. The reader can initially see this through the use of the word "nigger" that is all throughout the book. In the modern 21st century this term is taken offensively, but in the 19th century this term was commonly used and Twain took advantage of it.

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Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” She describes that the future of our world has to be aware of things that have happened in the past, such as racism. The NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a civil rights organization that displayed their position on this certain situation. The NAACP position is correct in that Mark Twain’s un-sanitized version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught because the book describes the important awareness of the historical oppression of people, it provides a value of morality from that time period that students should learn, and gives an important lesson about race that should be taught to students.

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