Prejudice In Huckleberry Finn

Analysis of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Everyday humans are faced with racial prejudice and societal stereotypes. These are, by no means, new topics of discussion. Such issues took hold in society centuries ago. Not only is it a burden on the minorities, but it has negatively affected humanity as a whole regardless of ethnicity. Sadly enough, this has become the societal norm. People are very quick to dismiss based on what society tells them rather than what they discover for themselves. Nearly 150 years ago, a man called Mark Twain wrote a novel in order to bring to light the issue of societal prejudice. However, each year, nearly since its release, many teachers and parents have attempted to keep this book, The Adventures of Huckleberry

Some say that it is the fault of the media and the government in order to keep the population distracted, but it is more likely that it is due to the ignorance of society and the desire to belong. Whatever the reason may be, the problem will never be solved if the human race maintains this separation. The only way to overcome racial prejudice is to stand together. Society says to blame the “niggers,” or immigrants, or muslims, or whoever it may be. Huckleberry Finn states in the very beginning of the book, “That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it” (Twain 2). While Huck was talking about snuff here, it really sets the theme for the entire novel. Nobody knows anything about Jim, except that he is a slave and a “nigger.” Nobody knows him except for his lost family and Huck, who discovers that Jim is more human, and has better values than any of the “white” people Huckleberry meets along the way. Mark Twain used the characters of Huckleberry and Jim not only to portray the issue of racial prejudice in society but to show how it may be overcome. One can no longer form his or her opinion of something if he or she knows nothing about it. One can no longer judge someone based on the color of their skin without knowing that person’s personal values. There are countless terrifying problems that face the world today. It is trivial that something as petty as race can get in the way of that. There is only one race: the human