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Huck Finn Dialectical Journal

Decent Essays

Huck Finn Journal Mark Twain’s publication of The Adeventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1883 stood as a groundbreaking novel for its time. The book definitely shocked quite a few people, and many were offended by Twain’s criticisms of society. Fast forward over 100 years, and Twain’s book has found itself banned in several areas after being accused of being a racist novel. However, not many realize that Twain’s portrayal of other races in Huckleberry Finn was through a satirical and ironic lense. Twain himself criticized society for several things, but some large critiques of his were of the gullibility of people and of the foolishness of slavery. Throughout Huckleberry Finn, Huck sees countless people get taken for a fool and believe foolish things. Most obvious are the people that get taken in by the King and Duke, but even earlier in the book, Huck sees people believing untrue things. For instance, when Huck tells the watchman that he has a family that …show more content…

Many view Huckleberry Finn as a racist book for the portrayal of the runaway slave, Jim, but Twain writes from Huck’s point of view, who was a product of his society. In the book, while using dialect and actions accurate for the time and location, Twain never portrays Jim in a negative light. In contrast to Huck’s father, Jim cares about Huck. For example, when Jim and Huck are reunited after getting lost in the fog, Jim tells Huck, “my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er me en de raf” (p. 157), as opposed to Huck’s father who only wants him around to prove he has control over Huck. This shows the difference between his white father who should be a strong male figure in his life, and a black man who actually looks out for Huck. Throughout the book, Huck comes to realize more and more that Jim is human just like

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