Huck Finn Racism Essay

Ever since its publication over a hundred years ago, controversy has swarmed around one of Mark Twain’s most popular novels, Huck Finn. Even then, many educators supported its dismissal from school libraries. For post Civil-War Americans, the argument stemmed from Twain’s use of spelling errors, poor grammar, and curse words. In the politically correct 1990’s however, the point of argument has now shifted to one of the major themes of the book: Racism. John Wallace once said of the book, “It’s the most grotesque version of racist trash” ever written. Were Twain’s archetypal characters and use of vernacular language an assertion of his own racist views, or a critique of the injustice of

When taking a look at Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, racism is a large theme that seems to be reoccurring. What some may think to be racism in Twain's words, can also be explained as, good story telling appropriate to the era the story takes place in.

As some critics have pointed out, Huck never condemns slavery or racial prejudice in general, but he seems to find an exception to the rule in Jim. Nevertheless, the fact that Huck does learn to see beyond racial stereotypes in the case of Jim is a profound development, considering his upbringing. He lived in a household with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson where slaves were owned. And Pap’s ranting over a free black man indicates his deep racial prejudice. When confronted with the fact that a free black man was highly educated and could vote, Pap decides he wants nothing to do with a government that has allowed this to happen. He wants the free man, whom he calls “a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free nigger” to be sold at auction (Telgen 9). In other words, all black people are slaves, white man’s property, in his eyes. Such are the views on race with which Huck has been raised. But there is no agreement to what Twain’s message on the subject of race is. While some critics view the novel as a satire on racism and a conscious indictment of a racist

Mark Twain has always been one of the most controversial authors of all time. Though in recent years, there has been increasing controversy over the ideas expressed in his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In some extreme cases the novel has even been banned by public school systems and censored by public libraries. The basis for this censorship is the argument that Mark Twain's book is racist, but in reality Twain was against racism and used this book to make people aware of what was going on in the south. He did this by using the regional dialect of the south, showing the attitude of the other characters in the novel toward black people, and showing his depiction of black characters. If one were to "read between the lines"

Huck knows what is acceptable in society, but he constantly finds his conscience pulling him in the opposite direction. For instance, when Huck contemplates the fact that he is traveling with a runaway slave, he resolves to turn Jim in because of that is what society tells him is the right thing to do. He is paddling out to shore when Jim tells Huck that he was his best friend and the first white man to ever keep a secret for him. This deeply affects Huck and he realizes that he cannot turn Jim in, even when he runs into an assemblage of men searching for slaves that have run away. Twain is especially critical of slavery in Southern society in this novel. When Jim tells Huck he plans to earn enough money or find a way to steal his children away from their owner, Huck pities the slaveholder saying, “Here was this [slave] which I had as good as helped to run away, … saying he would steal his children- children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t even done me no harm.” Huck is not a bad person; he is simply blinded by his time. Twain is pointing out the social irony of a man having to steal his children because a white man owned them.

In addition, both Twain and Pyle use discrimination as a motif in their story lines to further solidify the relationships between the characters. Being that Jim is a black man in a southern country, he is completely discriminated against and it’s for that reason that Huck comes to Jim’s rescue a number of times during their adventures and is a key factor in their survival; during nighttime, Huck goes into town to buy provisions and supplies. In the mornings, he slips into cornfields to “borrow,” produce while Jim waits on the raff because he cannot be seen on land without drawing suspicion. This demonstrates that it's not only Huck that depends on Jim to play the paternal role but also Jim that depends on Huck as the provider. It’s the

Even though Huck is not an adult and Jim is a slave, the white people which Huck and Jim encounter are morally and intellectually inferior compared them. Pap, Huck’s father, is a prime example of this. During a drunken conversation with Huck, Pap describes

To understand the treatment of Jim, an understanding of white mentality must first be examined. Though blacks had been granted citizenship in 1870, southern white society still looked upon them as less than human without souls or feelings. Twain gives this popular opinion to the character of Huck before “the evasion” when he illustrates Huck describing Jim “He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe was cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. I don’t seem natural but I reckon it’s so,” (Twain 199). By chapter thirty-two, it is expressed again by Aunt Sally during her conversation with Huck upon meeting:

     In July of 1876, a man by the name of Samuel Clemens began writing one of the most important and influential works in America’s literary history. Under the pseudonym of Mark Twain, the work was begun as a sequel to Twain’s popular boy’s adventure novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. As he progressed in the writing of the sequel, Twain, an author already noted for his humor, cynicism, and American social criticism, began to lean away from strictly the boy’s adventure style towards a more serious, critical look at society. By the time Twain had finished writing the novel in 1884, eight years after it was begun, he had produced The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his greatest work and possibly on of the

While many people only beginning this book will say that it is a racist novel, if you open your eyes to the undertones of the story you will see that it really is not. Twain may have chosen racial diction, but we need to remember the time period the story takes place in. It takes place in the 1800s, when slavery was still going on. Certain words that we consider racist were much more commonly used then. Twain uses these words to get his point across.

Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, grew up in the antebellum south where blacks were often viewed as nothing more than just ignorant, lazy, pieces of property with no feelings. As Mark Twain grew older, the perception of blacks as ignorant property with no feelings remained the same and even intensified to a certain extent. Surprisingly, around the time The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written, Mark Twain opposed slavery and presumably cringed at the common notion that blacks were just pieces of property and not even human beings. Coincidentally, a significant character in the novel, Jim, and other minor characters that are black, are portrayed throughout the novel as being stereotypical unintelligent, lazy

Huck then escapes from his father and finds Jim on a remote island, and the two travel down the Mississippi. While Jim is akin to family for Huck, he doesn’t completely see Jim as family, evident by his internal dilemma on whether to turn in Jim or not. He “knows it is illegal to be harboring a runaway slave”, but he also wants to help Jim out of friendship (Cyclopedia of Literary

Compare Pap, an abusive, drunk, absent father, and Jim, a family oriented, loyal and caring man. Who would be more accepted in society? Not Jim. The fact that people would even consider letting an abusive white man care for a young child rather than a caring black man clearly demonstrates racist views. "Yes, he's got a father, but you can't never find him these days. He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard, but he hain't been seen in these parts for a year or more." Pap was absent from Huck’s life until Huck came across money. Jim on the other hand looked out for Huck throughout the novel, helping him whenever he could. “I went to sleep, and Jim didn't call me when it was my turn. He often done that.” The white societies view acceptance of Pap rather then Jim further develops the concept of slavery and racism in the

A person’s looks can not determine how they feel about a certain race of people. Some of the nicest looking peoples harbor deep feelings of hatred towards races other than their own. Characters like Aunt sally, Uncle Earl, and Miss Watson all seem like very nice people, but they all accept and participate in, whether they realize it or not, racism. Almost all of the characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain seem to have pre-conceived ideas towards blacks, and the author does not seem to have any trouble writing the words of their pre-conceived thoughts or ideas. Mark Twain has an accepting attitude towards racism in his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Racism is one of the world’s major issues today. People are not aware of the extent as to which ethnic xenophobia continues to exist in our modern day society. Many can be branded as blind to racism in schools and the workplace, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. Humanity has evolved with the passage of time and people have grown accustomed to cultural differences, yet racism hasn’t completely gone away. Instead, the public has learned to redirect their hatred and invest their energies differently. The racist message is now conveyed through art, be it musical or literary. Some of the most influential pieces of English literature date back to a time where ethnic minorities were mistreated and so they tend to be quite racist.