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Mark Twain's 'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn'

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Recommended: Literary analysis of adventure of huckleberry finn

ACTIVITY #1: STUDENT CRITIQUE (REVIEW)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great book that has a lot to say about many topics that were going on in society during 1885 when it was written. At first, it can be a difficult book to read but once you get into it and understand the dialect then it’s actually a fun book to read. Huck Finn has a lot of humor and adventure in it which makes you want to find out what will happen next with Huck, Tom and Jim. However, the main purpose of the book is to really show how ridiculous society was during slavery and the racism that existed. Mark Twain was using the story to show the hypocrisy of people and how they thought about race. For example, during one conversation with “Aunt Sally” about his trip, …show more content…

Even though Slavery ended , the Jim Crow laws were still in effect. These laws allowed for the segregation of the races and still allowed for racism to continue until the Civil Rights movement nearly 100 years later. So, it is not a surprise that the 1885 review saw the story as a fun adventure and not about race even though it does say Huck is struggling with a moral issue. Also, during the time of the 1885 critique, the Ku Klux Klan was intimidating blacks and lynchings of black people happened all the time. So, the people at the time did not see all the issues going on with race and the treatment of black people. While states like Connecticut where the review were written did not have a history of slavery there still was a lot of racism across the country and northern states were not always aware of what was really going on in the …show more content…

For example, we are a very political correct society today so I understand where the author is coming from in their critique. However, I also agree with them in that we shouldn’t try to change the works of great authors like Mark Twain. I come for a minority background and have heard a lot of stories from family about how my Native American ancestors were treated so I can relate to not wanted to say things that could upset certain minority groups or sound racist. I was raised to know that we are all equal and that we should treat all people with respect so I can relate to not wanting to say negative things about a certain group of people or calling them insensitive

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697 Words | 3 Pages

It shows the friendship between Huck and Jim, were as history books are dry and boring. The history books do not always relate things to the past, this book shows you what it was like. It shows that slaves and white people could be friends and that not everyone hated slaves. We should support the fact that they traveled together because in this day and age these races have negative views about each other. The only way to end racism is to exploit all of it and learn from it.

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939 Words | 4 Pages

The social and historical norms of the time was in no doubt influential to the critics. As far as historical norms, The Hartford Courant refers to Jim as a runaway “N” word, a term that is no longer acceptable in our society. Historically, the term “runaway” is referring to the recent abolition of slavery, although still not fully over 20 years later. It was normal for white people to refer to black people using derogatory terms. The reason why the story “Huckleberry Finn” was a significant piece of literature was because it was unrealistic for a white boy to be friends with a runaway black man.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

With the novel being told in the first person point of view of Huck, we get a first hand experience of the prejudices then. We are able to see just how stereotypical and racist white people were in the past. A majority of the people in the south viewed blacks as inferior, or below them in social ranking. They ordered around their slaves and treated them with little respect at times. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can make students feel “uncomfortable," it is beneficial for students to read it.

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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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1011 Words | 5 Pages

Laura Post Huck Finn Scholarly Article “I didn’t want to go back to the widow’s any more and be so cramped up and sivilized, as they called it.” (35). Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist of the famous novel by Mark Twain, deliberately averts being “sivilized” by the adults of the story. While closely analyzing Huck Finn’s society, there is no wonder why. Mark Twain’s novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should be studied in high school because it shows the hypocrisy in a so called “civilized” society.

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789 Words | 4 Pages

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been shrouded in controversy ever since the book came out. In Twains time, many said that the book is only suitable for the slums because of Huck's lifestyle. He used choice words and lived like an uncivilized person back then. In today's time the book has different problems. The use of n-word and racist attitudes plague the book causing the main message of the book to be hidden.

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951 Words | 4 Pages

The readers start to see Hucks opinion and point of view develop when he finally discovers Jim’s true feelings. “I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way”. Huck grew up his whole life watching slavery, not knowing the wrongs from the rights. However, he starts to understand that even though African Americans weren’t treated the same, that they still feel the same way as white people. It also demonstrates his empathy towards Jim, developing a sense of care towards him.

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1724 Words | 7 Pages

Those who feel the novel encourages racism say that because of the stereotypes used when featuring Jim, how Huck and Tom treated Jim, and how often the N-word is brought up Twain had hoped to encourage racism. However there is still strong evidence that proves why that might be a misunderstanding. If twain was intending to encourage racism then why would he make Him seem so much of a better person than the duke, king, and Huck's father. Also when Twain illustrates the black and white symbolism he portrayed Him as white man and Huck's father, who is a white man, as dark and scary. Then throughout the story as a reader you feel empathy for Jim he begins to become one of the favorite characters in the novel.

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1278 Words | 6 Pages

Due to the political climate of the time, which was shortly before the Civil War, there was much prejudice surrounding slavery, and tension amongst the United States, concerning this issue.

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1403 Words | 6 Pages

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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2368 Words | 10 Pages

The ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, written by Mark Twain, follows the narrative of the young protagonist, Huckleberry Finn. While the novel takes off describing the wild adventures of Huck Finn, the novel progresses to reveal more mature themes. Before beginning the novel, readers are greeted with a warning from the author; “NOTICE: Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot” (Twain, 1). At the risk of being banished, readers may uncover two prominent themes: racism and slavery, and Huck’s evolving morality. While reading the novel, one may catch a glimpse into the society of the south where slavery

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573 Words | 3 Pages

The Underlying Causes of World War I The air is crisp as the breeze flows through the silk curtains, making a rippling noise that fills the silent room. The sun beams onto the kitchen table shining the tears in the eyes of my mother. Our breath matching in intensity as the news of war rips though the country like a wildfire. The rooms despondent disposition is sliced through when my mother mutters “Better war than this perpetual waiting” with a smile.

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516 Words | 3 Pages

Twain’s perspective on slavery and ideas regarding racism had been a source of debate. This theme of racism and slavery and Twain’s perception of it is developed throughout the “plot” events of the book. Twain was passionately anti-slavery during his

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251 Words | 2 Pages

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel written by Mark Twain in 1884, tells the story of a young boy’s adventures, troubles, and experience growing up in America’s south during the 1800’s. The book has charmed readers for generations and has long become a great American classic. Personally, I did not enjoy The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I understand Twain’s desire to have the book come from a young boy’s perspective, but he did not execute this intention well. The book was choppy and difficult to read.

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1818 Words | 8 Pages

The terror dealt at the hands of this novel is widespread. Students like Toni Morrison, picking it up as adolescents, innocent virgins to the horrors it contained, were shocked and shaken after reading it, instilled with “palpable alarm (Morrison 385).” The shame black students felt just by hearing their classmates snicker at the word “nigger” and the dread evoked by its appearance, is shameful and reveals Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’s dependent nature. It depends upon a teacher who can truly grasp and project the book onto their students. It depends upon students who are educated and mature enough to understand the book’s true meaning.

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