Should Huckleberry Finn Be Taught In Schools

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is considered a classic piece of American literature, however, does it really deserve to be taught in schools? With so many other books that cover topics more relevant to today, why should a book about a boy who runs away with a slave be taught over books focusing on more modern topics? Well, apart from the defense that the book is a classic, it does have a few motifs that make it still very relevant to today. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry finds himself grappling with his sense of right and wrong, and his internal conflict its still quite relevant to the debates people people have today. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should still be taught in schools due to his contemplation

“And then think of me! It would get all around…and if I was to ever see anybody from that town again, I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame” (Twain, 160). In this chapter, it’s revealed that the duke and dauphin have sold Jim, and Huckleberry thinks that it was his punishment for helping Jim in the first place. He contemplates writing a letter to Mrs. Watson explaining where Jim was, but realizes he would be looked down upon by anyone from the town. During this moment, he weighs wether getting Jim back into a more familiar and safer environment is worth ruining his reputation. This is a moral debate gone over by many, whether one person’s happiness or safety is more important than another’s. In the case of Huckleberry and Jim, Huckleberry choses to rescue Jim despite whatever retributions Huckleberry might

“But I says, I got to do it - I can’t get out of it,” (67). In this part of the book, Jim has mentioned that once he is free, he plans on trying to steal his family out of slavery, making Huckleberry feel so guilty he starts to plan on turning Jim in. At the time of the book being set, slavery was not only legal, but slaves were considered property. This meant that stealing someone out of slavery or helping a slave run away was an offense that was punishable by law. This gave Huckleberry a guilty conscious because not only was he helping a slave escape, but the slave was going to steal his kids out of slavery, making Huckleberry responsible for that as well. Ultimately, Huckleberry not only chooses to not turn Jim in, but later in the book decides to steal Jim out of slavery. Huckleberry decides that the law is not completely moral in the book, but in real life things are not as black and