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Why Is Huckleberry Finn Be Banned

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“... and the book is still selling--more than 20 million copies worldwide to date--and still generating controversy, many scholars consider it a classic of American literature” (Bilyeu). Why would a novel that is a bestseller worldwide, be banned? In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, major controversy has immersed. This novel has been sparking controversy for over 100 years, with people arguing over the ideas discussed in the book. Many critics do not believe the story belongs in the classroom, because of its use of racial slurs and other argumentative topics. However, other critics believe it belongs for the life lessons, and morals found in the story. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a valuable novel and should …show more content…

Some readers disagree with the teaching of this novel in public schools, and call the character Jim a negative stereotype. “In 1957, objecting to Twain's use of racial epithets and to the portrayal of Jim, who it said was a negative stereotype, the N.A.A.C.P. condemned the book as racist” (Bilyeu). Although some people see where they are coming from, others have to disagree with their statements. The character Jim is anything but a negative stereotype. Jim’s character breaks boundaries being intelligent, strong, and brave; however, some white characters are foolish and ill-advised. Not only is Jim crucial in this story, he even becomes a father figure for Huckleberry Finn. A reason critics opposed the book, is because they believe Mark Twain’s work makes racial tensions worse. “As recently as 1998, an Arizona parent sued her school district, claiming that making Twain’s novel required high school reading made already existing racial tensions even worse” (“Twain”). One may be able to see what this parent may be thinking, but some may have to disagree. If people do not discuss racial injustices that have occured, society will never overcome what has happened in the past. It is important to know what has occurred in history, so humanity does not repeat. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has not only been banned recently, but soon after its original release as well. This shows how this novel is not only notorious for being banned currently, but a century ago. “A month after its publication, a Concord, Massachusetts, library banned the book, calling its subject matter “tawdry” and its narrative voice “coarse” and “ignorant”... other libraries followed suit, beginning a controversy that continued long after Twain’s death in 1910” (“Twain”). This statement is preposterous, in more than one way. The narrative voice is portrayed by a young boy, Huckleberry Finn, of course he is not

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The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by writer Mark Twain is a very divisive book and the reason for that is because of it controversy with racism. It is banned from lots of school because they believe that it could make a lot of students uncomfortable. Maybe making them uncomfortable is a good thing. High school students can see how it was like back then for the black people and how they were treated. They weren 't treated as humans at all.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic, it was the starting point for all great American Literature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been awarded all of these honorable titles because of its abnormal and controversial plot line. During the time period when the book was written, it was unacceptable to view African- American’s as anything other than slaves. They were viewed as inferior to whites and were treated like property, they had no rights. The main character of the book, Huck, disagrees and disobeys these norms and pushes the boundaries of society when he becomes friends with a slave from his childhood; Jim.

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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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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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Why Would a Good Novel be Kicked out of the Classroom? A trashy and racist book wouldn 't be allowed in classrooms. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is getting a lot of negative talk about. The dominant problem that students, parents, teachers, and even professors, face , is the usage of the n-word.

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Since this book contains many racial slurs and violence, people want it banned or censored. Although, Huckleberry Finn should remain how it is because altering it changes the impact of the book, people will still be exposed to these slurs, and it is an opportunity to teach readers. The censored version of Huck Finn replaces the ‘N-word’ with the word ‘slave’. This would be an inaccurate representation because they have a

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Many believe this meaningful piece of literature should be banned from the high school curriculum. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stay in the high school curriculum because it is unprejudiced, historical, and important to literature. This story should stay in the high school curriculum because it is unprejudiced. Author and abolitionist Mark Twain uses satire to mock

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, why this book written by Mark Twain should be on the banned books list in schools and why it is too mature for it’s students. This book is full of situations that honesty students are not able to handle, leaving inappropriate impressions about racism and how to treat people and is going to cause teenagers and young adults to repeat the language and personalities seen in this, to other groups of this century that are fitting now The problem with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn’t that it is a bad book, not that maybe it is poorly written or isn’t a learning experience. The fact of the matter is that students do not hold the attention span or mental capacity to be forced to deal with this. While some may use to excuse that high school students may have enough knowledge over these situations, or if explained, people would enjoy the moral of the story more, that is not always the case.

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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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Twain's writing cuts deep into the heart of racism, and shows us that it does not matter what we look like on the outside, it only matters what we have on the

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Although the characters in the book are racist, this does not mean that Mark Twain himself is. Some people also suggest that the depiction of the character Jim is racist. “Jim is very ignorant and superstitious and speaks in a dialogue heavy with misspellings and mispronunciations. However, many argue that was the natural outcome of him being a slave with no formal education,” which is another way Twain was accurate to the era he was writing about (Gardner,

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parents, teachers, and the general public’s youth. The book is not what causes this uncomfort, it is the level of maturity that these people have, which is not enough to comprehend Twain’s story. According to John H. Wallace, a critic, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should be removed from all schools’ reading list because the novel is “the most grotesque racist trash ever written”(309). Most of these complaints and feelings for Huckleberry Finn are caused by middle school and high school populations. The level of maturity from this group of people is questionable.

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Lester argues that the improper portrayal of African Americans is detrimental to education. Lester mentions that Jim, an African-American, is portrayed as a “childlike” character, “more like one of the boys in Tom Sawyer’s gang than a grown man with a wife and children” (Lester 202). The character built around Jim is most likely a stereotype meant for black individuals, Twain's use of characterization does not effectively challenge racism rather it creates a stereotype of what a person might act like because of their race. Lester also argues that Twain intentionally added racial stereotypes to make it appealing to white readers “because it permits their own ‘humanity’ to shine with more luster” (Lester 203). The improper portrayal can be seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when Tom decides “There ain’t necessity enough in this case and, besides, Jim’s a n*****, and wouldn’t understand the reasons for it, and how its the custom in Europe”

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