Offensive Word Essay

The revisional author, Alan Gribben, said he worried that the N-word had resulted in the novel falling off reading lists. He believes his sanitized edition will please more readers and teachers. Gribben has plowed over Twain's freedom of speech in the process. After all, Twain isn't around to comment(Dawkins 1). The responsibility of this book belongs to no one. Banning or sanitizing Huckleberry Finn should not be a topic of discussion because Twain had every right to write the book however he desired. Offensive terms and words are being invented right now. We should not pick on historical terms when others are being invented everyday.

When some think about the word nigger they immediately think about negativity and some might even venture to say that it is a "bad" word. It takes you back to a time when blacks were oppressed and demoralized. When blacks were looked at as inferior and not worthy to obtain equal rights in America. But that was decades ago and it is now the 21st century. Not only have we changed the spelling of the word, by dropping the er and adding a, but the definition has changed also. According to Gloria Naylor, we have took our "past history of struggle and present survival against the odds" and transcended the word nigger into a "victorious statement of being". So a word that was used to depict

Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time.

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

Early arguments for the banning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is that the novel was “trash” on grounds of literary merit, racial, social, and economic class. The Concord Massachusetts, public library called it, “Trash of the veriest sort.” Critics didn’t

     In extreme cases the book, Huckleberry Finn, has been banned from some schools because of the depiction of racial tension towards Jim, the black slave, in Huckleberry Finn. This story takes place at a time where slavery was considered moral. Blacks were considered inferior to whites, but Huckleberry challenges the notion that he was raised upon. Through Huckleberry’s adventures Twain expresses his challenge towards civilization’s rules and moral code. One must read between the lines and reach for the meaning in Mark Twain’s subtle literature dialog. If one were to do this that one would realize that it is not racist, but anti-slavery. For someone

But according to Michael Meyers, “It is in the classroom, exactly, where the word ‘nigger’ belongs. It does not belong in the street, in casual conversation among whites or between blacks.” (67). John Wallace feels that because the word “nigger” appears over 200 times throughout the story, it “has caused him to be traumatized as a high-school student when it was required reading.” (“View of Slavery Still a Hot Topic”). Wallace went so far as to change the book, replacing any words that he felt were offensive to black people with other non-offensive words like slave or black man. When Wallace changed this book to what he felt was less offensive, the novel lost its irony, and its values (“View of Slavery Still a Hot Topic”). Other people argue that the text is harmful for young African-American students to read, but they must realize that Twain was writing for the time of the story. He wrote these words as a reminder that the way people acted in the past was unacceptable, and should not be tolerated, nor repeated. He knew that the way he had the characters treat Jim and the other slaves was wrong, but he was writing a period piece. These actions fit the way people acted in American society in the 1830's and 1840's (Cryer 60). Twain goes on to show that even though Huck has been brought up to think of blacks as only slaves, and that he knows that freeing a slave, is not only

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.

“Huck Finn” story can be a debatable when it comes to history, and what the story is about. Some argue that Mark Twain’s abuse of using the “N” word triggers racism especially that this book was written when slavery became illegal. As one student said, "It is estimated that the word nigger is used 392 times which reinforces a negative stereotype of African Americans represented by the use of this derogatory word" (Jackson). Some can still argue that this book can be a bad influence to the youth as they might be using the “N” word as a racist rant. For some, it is very disturbing, upsetting, and bringing back the past.

By 1968, more than half of the American people relied on television as their principal source of news. What they saw informed, engrossed, and unsettled them. CBS Evening News anchor Harry Reasoner referred to it as “horrors and failures.” The Vietnam War dominated the network newscast as it never had before. Suddenly the war was everywhere. The impact on the American public would indeed be great. It set off a critical reaction to the war within the American media and gave greater credence to arguments against the war that a vocal protest movement had been voicing for some time. The media coverage of the Tet Offensive had a great influence on the eventual outcome of the fighting and its aftermath. Clarence Wyatt, author of Paper

In Countee Cullen’s poem entitled “Baltimore’s Brush With the Harlem Renaissance,” he writes, “Now I was eight and very small, and he was no whit bigger, and so I smiled, but he poked out his tongue and called me, ‘Nigger.’ “...That’s all I could remember.” (Cullen 1) In these words, Countee Cullen showed that one word could make a major impact on him. This is exactly why Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned or censored. If the book were to be censored, it would not carry the same weight. The book teaches very important lessons about life and teaches good values. In the book, Huck grows to be close friends with Jim. However there are moral dilemmas that come along with their friendship. These come from the fact that racism and slavery were prominent during this period in time. A key example of this took place in Chapter 16 of Huck Finn. This is

The word "nigger" has become a popular saying amongst our current population. The word appears to be used more each day by an assorted group of people. I've conducted a research in order to gather a better understanding as of to why the word "nigger" is so commonly used. I've collected responses from my fellow class mates and read a book called nigger to acquire addition information about the different opinions brought on by its usage. In these responses were patterns that helped me to get better acquainted with this idea. Most writes provided me with the same answer, that the reason why people call each other "nigger" is because it is used in a positive way. With this information given, the next question that came to mind was is it

     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.

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"

    Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is perhaps one of the most controversial novels the North American Continent has ever produced.  Since its publication more than a hundred years ago controversy has surrounded the book.  The most basic debate surrounding Twain's masterpiece is whether the book's language and the character of Jim are presented in a racist manner.  Many have called for the book to be banned from our nation's schools and libraries.  Mark Twain's novel is about a young boy who was raised in the south before slavery was abolished, a place where racism and bigotry were the fabric of every day life.  The novel is the account of how Huck Finn, who is a product of these