Why Should Huckleberry Finn Not Be Banned

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial pieces of American literature. Due to its content, it has been considered a “banned book.” Many, however, argue against its banning; I am among them. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned, while it has aged rather poorly, it teaches morals that were rare to see at the time of its publication. The following will support this idea by going over its main points of contention. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemmens) was published in 1885. Its depiction of the Antebellum South was controversial from the start. Only a month after its publication, it was banned in a library in Massachusetts and others libraries and institutions soon

This is a completely absurd and utterly foolish reason to ban a book. Twain’s writing style was realism. The characters and the story itself would of course fall in line with the author’s writing style; to assume otherwise is idiocracy. Twain used his realistic style in contrast to what else was being written in his time. He has no fantastic adventure like Journey to the Center of the Earth or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. There is no evil monster like Dracula and this isn’t some bleak and dark story like Crime and Punishment. All of those and more were written with unrealistic elements to enhance their stories' themes. Even in stories where Twain uses magic, like in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, he still uses realism to show how unrealistic these fanciful characters were. Twain’s realism is always his major

I believe that it should not. While personally I greatly appreciate classic literature and I believe that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned, I believe that this book should not be taught in every school. Its writing, storytelling, morals, and messages are far outdated. It was perfect for its time and intended audience, but that time has long since passed and its audience has long been dead and buried. It has served its purpose. It was a counter to what was being written at the same time, but without that context the text does not hold up as well. Its dialectical writing is becoming more and more difficult to understand as time goes on and its word choice, again as previously mentioned, has only led to major disagreement. It has no value in the modern world. Its ideas and themes are no longer universal and even the ones that do remain relevant are, I believe, taught in a much better way by many other books. The subtle antiracism no longer works. That is why to the modern audience it is seen as racist to many. The subtlety no longer works. Overall, while it does not deserve to be banned, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a relic of a bygone