Racism In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a challenging novel that deals with the difficult and delicate topic of racism. Written in the South in 1883, this book includes derogatory racial terms and the characters maintain a less than human view of slaves. All of this can easily lead to uncomfortable classroom discussions and an overall lack of understanding for the novel and its meaning. In order to avoid this, you must enter the conversation having prepared for the book, carefully read the book, and considered those participating in the discussion. First, you must consider Mark Twain’s background and his point of view when he wrote Huckleberry Finn. Born in the South in 1835, Mark Twain experienced the Civil War and lived through a very racist

Clearing any possible confusion about the book leads to a complete comprehension of the book. When entering a literary discussion, especially for a conversation about a difficult novel such as Huckleberry Finn, an understanding of the book is critical. While reading or re-reading the text, add notes to any sections of the book you don’t understand or anything you have a question about. Then, after you have finished reading the text, go back to these questions and try to answer them for yourself. If you are still confused or unsure about something, turn to outside sources such as your teacher, a peer, or the Internet for assistance. Do not neglect any part of the text or just skim through the pages because entering a meaningful literary conversation in a classroom setting involves an understanding of the book by its

Depending on their view of this novel, some teachers may prefer to either talk about the novel as written, or censor it by substituting the racial terms with a euphemism carrying a less offensive meaning. Knowing whether to use or avoid certain racial terms will allow you to not offend those taking part in the discussion. Finally, you must consider the racial makeup of those in your class. What you should say depends on your audience; conversing with a mostly African-American group will be much different than a mostly Asian group. Without properly following your teacher’s directions on word choice or considering the racial makeup of your class, you can easily offend someone in the conversation. This can lead him or her to believe you do not understand the history of racism and they will disregard what you say because you exposed your lack of ethos. In order to have a meaningful literary discussion on Huckleberry Finn, you must consider those participating in the discussion and whether using derogatory racial terms is appropriate or if you should employ a