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Why Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Taught In Public Schools

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Throughout the United States, there are books that many school districts despise teaching and have teachers not teach, some reasons being due to obscene language and controversial topics like racism and slavery. Those reasons can make this book uncomfortable teach because some teachers don’t know how to address these topics to their students and the fear of making students upset. However, these controversial issues in books stem from history; one of those novels being, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. High schools like Friends’ Central School in Philadelphia (Akkoc) and all Minnesota school districts (Sabur) have decided to not include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in their 11th grade teaching curriculum’s, due …show more content…

The novel tells a story of a young white boy, who is abused by his alcoholic father in a time where African Americans were not seen as humans. This novel also signifies a personal change for the protagonist, Huck Finn, because he sees a Jim, a runaway slave, as a living being rather than dirt. That period still exemplified the hate and racism shown towards African Americans and addresses abuse. School districts don’t like the frequent usage of the “N-word”, and who really does? It’s a derogatory slur as well as insult, and it certainly wasn’t used as a compliment towards African Americans. However, as writer David Bradley states, “We cannot avoid being hurt. Language hurts people, reality hurts people…. If the word ‘nigger’ did not have meaning today we wouldn’t care that it was in [Huck Finn]. The hurt is that it still does have meaning…” (Maine Public)
Maine Public article on teaching Huck Finn thoroughly explores why this book is difficult to teach but offers tips on how to address the language of it. It also mentions ways of talking to a class that is mixed, dominantly white or African American, or if one or the other is the minority. The use of the n-word would be in a class setting and teachers will have to be open about the meaning and history behind it. They also must be clear on the usage of the word in and out of class, because it shouldn’t be used as an insult towards another

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Ever since Mark Twain published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885, it has been one of the most banned books in America. Not only one, but many different people/groups have banned Mark Twain’s classic due to the consistent theme of race. The book is considered inappropriate because of how Mark Twain regards African Americans and Indigenous people. Historically, it is off of many school bookshelves because many may argue that the book even promotes racism. One month after the book’s debut in 1885, a library in Concord, MA stated that Twain’s novel was "trash and suitable only for the slums".

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913 Words | 4 Pages

One popular book that has been challenged for banning is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is about a runaway boy and his slave on their quest to the North for freedom. They face many obstacles and even though they never make it to the North, Jim is set free anyway. Although some people think that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned in schools, it should not be banned because the novel is classic literature that people can easily get their hands on, it shows what life was like for African Americans while slavery was still permitted, and the book teaches valuable life lessons. There is no point in banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it can be easily acquired by kids since it is a classic novel.

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If you ask two different people what the n word meant you would probably get two completely different responses. One might say it is insulting and degrading, another might say it is a term of endearment. Throughout Huck Finn this word was used a total of 219 times. If the n word were not a degrading term there would not be so much controversy about banning and censoring Huck Finn. However, the word has been altered since it was used in the time period of Huck Finn.

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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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This is why I think that the old version The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools. To teach the youth of this day and age about history. Work Cited Twain,Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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1456 Words | 6 Pages

Toni Morrison effectively analyzed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covering different perspectives and ways to interpret the novel that displays a higher level understanding of a “challenging” text. Good writing and analysis skills are crucial for a variety of different tasks students will have to perform beyond school. Additionally, challenging literature offers a great opportunity for students to learn about censorship. As many books read in schools today are being censored, any opportunity for students to directly learn more about the issue is beneficial. In the article “Schools Can’t Ban Books Because of Complaints, Court Says,” Mark Walsh addresses a woman who wishes to discard of controversial works, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that provoke racial harassment in the school system (Source B).

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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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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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Jim being an African American slave, people give him racist remarks and treat him horrible. Slavery and racism was a big deal back then, even though we have omitted slavery today, racism still continues to be an issue in society. These controversial topics are good examples and can be beneficial for discussion in a school classroom, along with the basis for American history which is why people need to keep teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry

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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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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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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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917 Words | 4 Pages

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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During this month of December a summit was hailed in Washington DC to discuss one thing, human gene editing. This is a very important topic as of right now as scientist reach closer and closer to playing god when it comes to gene editing. That is why there needs to be boundaries of what is okay to alter and what is not. There is even a possibility of completely changing the entire human genome for the future with this. Gene editing could be used for good as like helping cure cancer and diseases that are genetically passed down.

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