In a more sensitive society, like the one today, banned books are becoming more common. Typically the books aren’t banned by the government for having views that go against the state’s views, but they are, however, banned by smaller groups who view the book’s content as having “sexual explicitness, the use of offensive language, political incorrectness, and violence” (“Banned Books”). A popular example of a banned book is Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The main reason Twain’s book is on the banned books list is do to the fact that it uses racial slurs (offensive language) such as “nigger” and its portrayal of Huck’s slave friend Jim (no longer politically correct). The book’s content is not racist but rather the time it takes place …show more content…
In large part, the focus on this period stems from the central and overwhelming importance of the slavery issue in national politics at this time. It was not until the 1830s that slaveholders fully embraced the defense of slavery as a ‘positive good’”("The Final Century of Slavery in the United States"). Since Huckleberry Finn takes place pre Civil War, around 1835-1845, this sets the story in a time where pro-slavery was beginning to push back against the abolishment of it, meaning that life for the slaves and African Americans as a whole would become much harder just as the story in question began since those who were wanting to keep slaves would begin to think that what they were doing was positive, and if it was a good thing in their mind, they would not care about a slave’s life if it meant they were doing a good deed for society, so why value it at all. That is why Twain wrote the word “nigger” 205 times, to emphasize that the time this is taking place is not good for somebody like Jim, not because the book was meant to be
There are many important and historical themes in Mark Twains “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The one that I found to be the most interesting and the most historically accurate was the controversial racism that is presented all throughout the book. A lot of this time period was predicated on racism, and this book shows it by giving us eye opening examples from beginning to end.
One of Mark Twain’s best selling novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has been disputed ever since the novel has been published in 1884. The novel was based on a young white boy who escaped his abusive alcoholic father and had so many crazy adventure with Jim, a runaway slave. The novel also included racial slurs such as using the word “nigger” over 200 times. Over the time that has gone by, the novel is still unwanted and so many schools are discussing to ban this famous American literature because of just one word, “nigger”. So many people found this word to be offensive so instead of banning the book, the word “nigger” was replaced with “slave”. Also other options were considered such as making a new edition of the novel or just replace
Many books around the world have been banned because they are offensive. One example is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel about the journey of a thirteen-year-old boy named Huck, who fabricates his own death to run away with an escaped slave named Jim. The two voyage in a raft along the Mississippi River to gain their individual freedom. In addition, Huck gains a new understanding about humanity. Huck Finn has been creating great controversy on both sides of the argument: to ban or to keep in the school curriculum. Currently “much debate has surrounded Mark Twain’s Huck Finn since its publication in 1885, but none has been more pervasive, explosive, and divisive than that surrounding the issue on race”
“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” this is what fellow writer had to say about this classic novel. Still, this novel has been the object of controversy since it was published more than 150 years ago. Some people argue that Huckleberry Finn is a racist work, and that the novel has no place in a highschool classroom. This feeling is generated because a main character in the story, Jim, and other slaves are referred to many times as “niggers.” When Mark Twain wrote this book, he was striving to show the general public that society was wrong in the past, that the way white people thought black people were less than human was a wrong viewpoint. The
When the argument of replacing the word "nigger" with "slave" one sees the issue with that. The issue being that "nigger" in that time meant African-American, not necessarily a slave. So looking at a high school or college student in the future reading Huckleberry Finn for the first time and reading is with the word "slave" the story loses its effect on the reader. It does not give a sense of the time, it would only give a vibe that something is not right in the story. When reading this story for the first time, one must have an open mind and not pay attention to little things like racism in this book. The main plot is not, lets raft down a river and see how racist we can be. As one reads the story flows, and part of that flow is to allow discrepancy in racial slurs. It is okay to have the
Year after year The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is placed in the top ten banned books in America. People find the novel to be oppressing and racially insensitive due to its frequent use of the n-word and the portrayal of blacks as a Sambo caricature. However, this goes against Mark Twain’s intent of bringing awareness to the racism in America. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is classified under the genre of satire and is narrated by a fictional character named Huckleberry Finn. The novel takes place in the south during the year 1845. With his abusive father, and no mother, Huck is left feeling lonely, and as if he has place to call his home. So he decides to leave town, and on in his journey where he encounters a slave he’s familiar with, Jim, who is also running away. This story captures their relationship and growth as they face many obstacles on their way to freedom. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn satirizes people’s greed and violent behavior by mocking the stereotype of southern hospitality.
Additionally, One of the most significant satires used in Huckleberry Finn was slavery. The novel is set somewhere around The Civil Era when slavery was very prominent. Jim one of the main characters was a slave who eventually became free. “And it was the niggers- I just expected (Twain 180(.” Twain demonstrates how unfair slavery is by using this quote. Twain demonstrates how slaves were treated poorly and used as scapegoats for things they didn’t do. “Well I Reckon! There’s two hundred dollars reward on him. It’s like picking up money out’n the road (Twain 202).” Twain shows how people will do anything for money. People at the time saw slaves as money instead of actual people. People treated slaves like property as if they didn’t have any rights.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim, a runaway slave, faces many obstacles in his journey to freedom. Huck Finn, a teenage boy and friend of JIm, is also facing difficulty with whether or not he should be helping Jim escape slavery. Many characters throughout the novel struggle to deal with conflicts. A conflict that people in today’s world are struggling to deal with, is the controversy over whether Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel or not. All-in-all, Huckleberry Finn is profoundly antislavery. Twain creates Him as a man who is brave and heroic. Twain also demonstrates that the blacks and whites relationship is not the only concern over racism, and reveals the voice of a slave attempting to survive in a white slave culture.
Supporters of banning say profanity can negatively influence the actions and thoughts of readers, especially younger readers that may not have heard or read many corrupt words. Huckleberry Finn, a book commonly inveighed for its use of contentious racial language, is commonly challenged for that reason. For USA Today, Martha Moore wrote, “When the younger reader is staring at that word five times on a given page and the instructor is saying, 'Mark Twain didn't mean this and you have to read it with an appreciation of irony,' you're asking a lot of a younger reader”. Granted, foul vocabulary is a challenge that academies need to address, but not through barring novels. Besides, if the reader is sufficiently mature for the book, they can still learn from it. For instance, some racial characterizations do not intentionally persecute people, but show the contrasting tensions between them, conforming to the time period. Again, the article “Huck Finn Navigating Choppy Waters Again” revealed, “The word is there for a reason… The word is terrible, it's hurtful, but it's there for a reason” (Moore). The racial epithets used in that book convey the attitude of Missouri in the 1840s when friction between African Americans and white people was rising. Additionally, banning a book due to concerns about the language is not beneficial to pupils because it prevents them from learning from other components of the book. “Often the organizations or schools that ban these books fail to see the book as a whole; they often center on the one page, the one scene or even the one word containing the offensive language or meaning and judge the whole book based on that one aspect,” according to an article by Adriana Lopez. She makes a sound point. A book contains a whole plot with themes that
Twain writes the novel because he wants Americans to know the honest truth of the life of a slave. "It carries with it the blood of our ancestors. They were called this word, nigger, while they were lynched; they were called this word while they were hung from the big magnolia tree.” Beatrice Clark says these words to the press after her Granddaughter is required to read the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (‘Huck Finn’ a masterpiece or an insult). Clark feels offended because her ancestors were called that word, but Twain is actually respecting her ancestors by getting Americans to realize how bad African Americans were
A major theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery and our evolvement towards the institution. “In fact, Twain’s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society. . .” (Bollinger, 32 – Say It Jim) In the beginning of Huckleberry Finn’s relationship with Jim, he has little respect for him and as their journey progresses he
Huckleberry Finn is a race novel in most respects. Race novels are used to help combat racism and stereotypes--- especially at the time of the novels publishing. Twain provides a liberal social message as Huck develops throughout the story going from a blindly racist child that was a product of his southern upbringing into a young man with experiences that aided in him finding his own opinions and having an actual relationship with Jim as a person rather than a slave. While the novel faced mass criticism for being considered a racist and antiracist novel it is important to note that society at the time of publication and the society within the story were at a very different level of racial acceptance (slavery was still legal!) Specifically,
The way today deals with race is very touchy. We just dance around the subject and pretend it’s not actually there. This book deals with race the wrong way. Huckleberry Finn shows black people only as slaves and property that can be bought; not as actual people with feelings and a heart. Imagine being a black teenager and reading this book in class. You will read the 219 times Mark Twain wrote the word “nigger”. You will read the countless times Jim was disrespected and his ideas tossed away because he was black, and you will read the
An issue of central importance to Huckleberry Finn is the issue of race. The story takes place in a time of slavery, when blacks were considered inferior to whites, sometimes to the point of being considered less than fully human. But Huckleberry Finn challenges the traditional notions of the time, through its narrator and main character, Huckleberry Finn. While in the beginning, Huck is as unaware of the incorrectness of society’s attitudes as the rest of society is, he undergoes many experiences which help him to form his own perspective of racial issues. Through the adventures and misadventures of Huck Finn and the slave Jim, Twain challenges the traditional societal views of race and
There is a major argument among literary critics whether the adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question focus on the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and the way he is treat by Huck and other characters. The use of the word “nigger” is also a point raised by some critic, who feel that Twain uses the word too often and too loosely. Mark Twain never presents Jim in a negative light. He does not show Jim as a drunkard, as a mean person or as a cheat.