To Censor or Not to Censor Censorship has existed for hundreds of years and still persists within our modern world. From the burning of books at the hands of crusaders in 1109 to the banning of books in recent years, censorship has shared a long history with books. Nowadays, books are simply banned or removed from libraries. However, in the case of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book is being censored by removing specific words from it and replacing them with a “non-offensive” word. In censoring the n-word, will the overall message of the story change or be reduced? The change in words, while not being seen as a major change to the overall story and message, has a profound impact on the nature of the book and creates a new novel that …show more content…
Libraries will be denying people the opportunity to learn about racism and how abusive it is, which may result in less and less people knowing about such issues that may still persist in modern society. Schools will essentially be doing the same, but the consequences will be more direct and widespread as schools are the primary center for education. Removing Huckleberry Finn would be a disservice to the history of the United States and the progress that has been made over centuries of reform and social action. The negative aspects of history can not be avoided merely because they do not stay in line with modern social norms and morals. If people obediently accepted the removal of everything that would be considered offensive without first checking the values that can be learned from them, people will stop caring about history and the people that died to create change. People will be just like Huck Finn, when he found out Moses was dead for a long time. People in the real world no longer “take stock in dead people” as well (pg 2 Book). While not the best choice, if it comes to it, having the n-word changed to slave may be better than getting rid of the entire
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”
Although some people think that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned, it should not because in the book readers get to experience a character grow in morality and the book shows the history of the country but in a fictional way that is interesting to young readers. Banning books is doing a complete injustice to young students, who do not get the chance to read inspirational and historic books because of the heretics of people in their
The decision to ban the novel Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries has been an ongoing controversy. The presence of the 'n word' and the treatment towards Jim, and other blacks in general, has made many readers uncomfortable. Despite this fact, Huckleberry Finn has been and remains a classic read. I do not believe the novel should be banned or sanitized because it is a part of American history whether it is good or bad, also we have no right to change someone's writing simply because we do not like how it is written, Mark Twain's writing should not be penalized because of the ideals of today.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a significant book in the history of American literature that presents readers with the truth of our past American society in aspects such as speech, mannerisms, and tradition that we must embrace rather than dismiss by censorship. It is a novel that has been praised and proclaimed America’s “first indigenous literary masterpiece” (Walter Dean Howells) as well as one that has been criticized and declared obscene. It has undergone much scorn and condemnation as a novel and many feel that it should be censored. This, however, is not the way it should be. Huckleberry Finn is a masterpiece and, as a matter of fact, it is one on many levels. The story itself, though
Huckleberry Finn Is Not to be Sivilized Censorship has always been a controversial subject, particularly when the materials in question are works of literature hailed as American classics. Despite the throngs of adoring fans who undyingly advocate for their favorite stories, certain novels are repeatedly called into question, chief among them The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. 219 occurrences of the N-word have earned the novel a multitude of challenges for crude and offensive language (Source F). However, this single word is fundamental to Mark Twain’s message.
Society has had problems with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shortly after being published. Huckleberry Finn was first published in January of 1885 and only two months later in March of 1885 the book was banned. The problem first with the book was it was too friendly toward African Americans and believed to lead children astray from certain values. Now over 100 years later “Huckleberry Finn is still making news” (Pitts). Now in the 21th century we have a problem with Huckleberry Finn not because of kindness to African Americans or believing it would lead children astray from traditional values but because of “one reason - one word: nigger” (Pitts). This word has been seen as a problem in the classrooms and teachers and schools refuse
Should Huckleberry Finn be taught in schools? This question has been a topic of discussion over the past years and is still being talked about today. A lot of people say that the book should be banned from schools because of the racial comments in the book. People claim that it could offend the youth, and teach them unfit words. It is understandable for people to be concerned about the books language, but in reality all the book does is enlighten the youth on the history of slavery and many more. In Joan DelFattores article she states. “The elimination of "nigger" is presented not as censorship but as a rescue mission to save Huckleberry Finn from oblivion, because many secondary schools will not teach material that makes students
Twain unnecessarily uses the word a total of 219 times throughout the novel. Although this argument is valid, his language is an important aspect of the story. Huck's ignorance often surfaces, and his frequent use of the “n-word” certainly causes the reader to cringe. In a classroom, discomfort among students is often magnified. The offensive language in Huck Finn certainly makes it a difficult book to read, however, it does not entail eliminating the novel from classrooms. Critics have often discussed censoring the book and replacing the “n-word” with “slave” instead. This would be just as ineffective as eliminating the book. Mark Twain intentionally uses this language to bring reality into his story and help show the change that his characters undergo. Changing the diction and language would be changing the story. Just because a word is offensive, doesn’t mean it is being used for the wrong purpose.
Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered an American classic. However, critics demand the book should either be censored or banned from high school classrooms, because of its racial overtones and use of the “N-word” 215 times. Several schools, in fact, have already banned the book. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be censored or banned, and should be read by high school students, because it is an important work of literature that illustrates what life was like for African-Americans prior to the Civil War.
This would have a detrimental impact on student learning about the history of slavery and other historical events. On the opposing side of Clark’s view in ““Huck Finn”, a masterpiece or an insult”, Anderson, the teacher in this argument, expresses her love for the book and says, “We could ignore the book, but then we are ignoring history. We are ignoring that that language exists. I don’t think in the long run, that’s helpful to our kids.” To get rid of this history is to get rid of our identity as a country. The blasphemy of this action is outstanding because it is not demonstrating who we are because of our country and how we, as a whole have made mistakes. For example, if the school board bans “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” because of its explicit language then it could lead to the deduction of the teaching of slavery in public schools. Slavery was undoubtedly wrong but it still makes the United States what it is today because of its economic and political factors during the 1800s. Furthermore, the censorship of this book might prove the quote “history repeats itself” in a sense that without the proper education of racism and slavery, students might be at a place where, in their thoughts, slavery is a good thing because of parental persuasion, its beneficial economic impacts, and not being taught properly about the
There has been an ongoing decision whether to ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries of high schools. The use of the word “nigga” and the treatment of them [blacks] in general, has made many readers feel uncomfortable. The fact, that the Huckleberry Finn is and will remain a classic novel; I do not believe that it should be banned from high school curriculums. In all fact, it is part of American history whether it is good or bad, also we do not have the authority to change anyone’s writing. Removing Mark Twain’s novel would be ignoring the American history and its past.
George Orwell, author of 1984, Animal Farm, and a number of other works, was rightly concerned with the state of the world and its direction. He outlined his concerns in the book 1984. In the fictional, yet all too real world of 1984, political orthodoxy is required and ensured through the use of mass surveillance. Any person found to be harboring unorthodox sentiments is “vaporized.” They are detained and ultimately executed. But before that they are wiped from the record in a manner similar to the purges performed by Joseph Stalin. By wiping the vaporized person from the only record, the Party’s record, they are removed from history and essentially existence. All of this is justified by an eternal war. Eternal in that Oceania has always been at war
The medical marijuana debate is important today because of today’s high cost of prescription drugs as well as the huge opioid crisis occurring in the United States through prescribed medicine. Big Pharma’s stranglehold on prices of much needed prescription drugs and the inability to import cheaper drugs from elsewhere force alternative drugs into necessity. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is combatting Big Pharma and its manipulation of “the system to keep prices high.” While Congress fights within itself on how to properly drive drug prices down ethically, medical marijuana could serve as a cheaper alternative while also driving attention away from dangerous narcotics. People suffering from cancer, AIDs, and other deteriorative diseases can not only have a more natural medicine, but one far cheaper than what Big Pharma is charging currently. Consequently, lessening suffering within society as a whole, combatting corruption within the pharmaceutical industry, and lessening financial burden on those seriously ill.
That being said, many parents required to have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn removed from the school reading lists, in order to relieve their children from the burden of being prejudiced among their white fellows. The critic Jocelyn Chadwick- Joshua argues that by doing that “we run the risk of blinding our children to their own history and legacy, thereby creating future generations bereft of the sight necessary for historical reflection and cultural lineage.”(Chadwick, 1999, p.