ipl-logo

Why Is Huck Finn Be Taught In Today's School

1233 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis of adventure of huckleberry finn

In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a book about a boy named HuckleBerry Finn who 's from St. Petersburg, Missouri. Huck has a drunk and abusive father who only wants huck for his money, so Huck fakes his own death. At the same time Jim (a black slave owned by Miss Watson) heard that he was going to be sold down south, where he would be mistreated and separated from his family. They team up and try to make it up to the free states up north. This book shows examples of large amounts of racism and stereotyping threw out the book, and the big question is show it be taught in today 's school systems? I think it shouldn 't because it supports to much racism and doesn 't really serve any reason to be taught in today 's …show more content…

Huck 's morality is the only educational thing I believe is in this book, because it 's something you have to piece together and isn 't clear all the time. On page 43, Hucks early morality is a typical southern 's, “‘Well, I b 'lieve you, Huck. I—I RUN OFF.” “Jim!’”. Huck basically states he 's better than Jim in a way, Huck is shocked and mad that Jim has run off but Huck is also a run away so you can see this early racial attitude Huck has. On page 65, Huck 's moral improves by a little to show that he is making progress toward the right attitude, “ Pap always said it warn 't no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn 't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn 't borrow them any more—then he reckoned it wouldn 't be no harm to borrow the others. So we talked it over all one night, drifting along down the river, trying to make up our minds whether to drop the watermelons, or the cantelopes, or the mushmelons, or what. But towards daylight we got it all settled satisfactory, and concluded to drop crabapples and p 'simmons.”. Huck is stuck between two chooses, his father 's (you can borrow stuff if you plan to pay them back) and Widow Douglas (“borrowing” is just a soft way of saying …show more content…

So I do like the book because of the morality development fact, the overflow of racial comments and actions outweigh the educational value of the morality development. I do not think this book should be taught in today 's school system and i think we need to move on to better

Show More
Related
704 Words | 3 Pages

The book was very informative of life when racism was more apparent. I think that books like this show that standing up to racism is an option. It shows that even children of a younger age were involved in the situation.

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

eople say the book Huckleberry Finn is racist and makes fun of religion, but it is a classic that teaches children about so many things like southern beliefs, morals, and truth about slavery. During the 1800’s slavery was a huge part of the south. Huck is just a regular southern boy who chose to help a slave run away to be free. This journey ended up taking the Huck and Jim deeper into the south than they intended, Huck had to make many difficult decisions along the way. Mark Twain’s book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned from the school curriculum.

Read More
292 Words | 2 Pages

Whether or not Huck Finn should be taught in schools has been hotly debated over for years. Many say that the book should be banned from schools because of the racial comments in the book; people claim that it could scar the youth, but instead teaches them morals on racism and empathy. Huck Finn should not be banned in secondary schools. The book uses the “n-word,” A LOT, and today using that word is offensive to many people.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

Huck Finn is an original story of a boy in racist America who spends enough time with a slave to realize that they are extremely similar to white people. “...he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n”(Twain 158). Through small things like seeing him cry over his own family he doesn’t understand why all blacks are slaves even though they act and feel the same way as whites. There is a development in his mind of black people that is slowly disregarding what society thinks.

Read More
319 Words | 2 Pages

Although Huck seems to morally and ethically mature throughout the two-thirds of the novel, for the most part, as he is isolated from society, his development cannot be confirmed as permanent. Huck spends most of his time exploring islands with Jim, crossing rivers on the raft, and visiting various towns with two conman. Overall, Huck does not have enough substantial interactions with society for a long time. As Huck is a teenager, his values are constantly changing and developing, and he is vulnerable to his surroundings. When Huck and Jim are in isolation at various islands, Huck is free from society’s influence.

Read More
692 Words | 3 Pages

Should the word “nigger” be used in high school literature? That is the tough decision that many high school teachers face when try to decide whether or not to teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck Finn uses the n word throughout the book to refer to a friend who is a slave. Even though that word can be very offensive, it is a big part of our history that high school students should be mature enough to learn about. Many students do not continue on to college after high school; therefore, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be allowed to be taught in high school.

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

A single word, used 219 times throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, causes a world of controversy surrounding this classic piece of literature (“Leave”). The use of the N-Word throughout the novel makes some people feel uncomfortable as they read and discuss the book; however, others argue that the book provides a valuable learning opportunity that gives students a refreshing perspective on racism throughout American history. Such controversy between Huck Finn’s great teaching powers, yet uncomfortable diction, proposes an everlasting question: should public schools teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Many people feel uncomfortable with the teaching of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in public schools due

Read More
1266 Words | 6 Pages

Huck decides to act on his morals rather than be held captive by society; Huck believes that he has to act in the best interest of Jim and does not consider what society believes is acceptable behavior. By stating that he will “go to hell,” Huck reiterates what he promises Jim in the beginning- that he rather be a “low down abolitionist”; these statements combined supports his feelings to protect Jim from society. When Huck and Tom get back to the house, Huck states, “...it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t got no

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

This transition is the result of the extended period of time that the two spend together, which allows Huck to look past the differences that he has been taught to observe for his entire life and view Jim for what he is; a fellow man. By the end of this passage, Huck’s resolve to do right by Jim is so strong that he is willing to suffer eternal damnation rather than betray Jim. Perhaps Huck’s most important statement in this passage is “Alright then, I’ll go to hell”; here he decides he’s willing to go to hell for eternity rather than causing Jim to return to his life as a slave. At first Huck just thought of Jim the property of another person, a good to be bought and sold regardless of any evidence that he was a human being. As they travel together, this viewpoint is gradually weakened by examples of Jim’s humanity, culminating in a model shift that goes against everything Huck has been taught about the societal status of a

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

Morality is defined as the principles for which people treat one another, respect for justice, and the welfare and rights of others. Moral development is gained from major experiences that can change viewpoints on life or cause people to make a difficult choice in a tough situation. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of Mark Twain’s major themes evident in the book is the moral development of Huck FInn, the main character. In the beginning of the book, Huck’s lack of morals and uncultured personality is a product of living with his abusive, demoralized father.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

The book was challenged by a middle school in Brentwood, Tennessee in 2006 because the book contains “profanity” and “contains adult themes such as rape and incest.” The complaints also say that the book promotes “racial hatred, racial division, racial separation, and promotes white supremacy.” The people that say that are people that are trying to ‘protect’ other people from knowing and understanding what happened in the past because they believe that if they do know and understand what happened in the past then they will become racist and believe in white supremacy. These kinds of people are like the Holocaust deniers who believe that six million Jews where not murdered despite all of the evidence against that. George Santayana once said “Those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it.”

Read More
823 Words | 4 Pages

The Cold War really began in 1945 after the end of WWII with the defeat of Germany and Japan, and in 1946 it really began to take hold after speeches and the ideology that communism and capitalism were incompatible. Then soon after, “Stalin and Churchill issued their declarations of cold war” (LaFeber 44). After the general elections of 1945, Winston Churchill was voted out and replaced by Clement Attlee, so Harry Truman invited Churchill to go to the U.S. to give a speech and let the people see him. During the visit, on March 5, 1946, while visiting Westminster College in Missouri, Churchill gave his famous iron curtain speech, and claims that there is an iron curtain on the border where the red army occupies. He continues, saying that there

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.

Read More
481 Words | 2 Pages

It is the common flaw of Huck’s companions, role models, and even of him to condone slavery. Many people attempt to civilize Huck by teaching social rules and stable beliefs, but nothing is more uncivilized than the act of owning and dehumanizing another human being. It is the shameless and institutionalized hypocrisy that shapes the moral critique of this novel. Racism in America is an ongoing struggle that has manifested itself differently throughout each generation, and although the existence of racism is no longer legislative, oppression of African Americans remains a relevant issue, and thus The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’s analysis of racism remains relevant as well. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been read by everyone from the casual reader to the impassioned intellectual over the last 130 years.

Read More

More about Why Is Huck Finn Be Taught In Today's School

Related Topics

Open Document