Racism In Huck Finn

One of the ways Twain exposes the folly of the negative attitudes toward blacks is through describing the whites' cruel and pointless acts of hatred directed toward Jim. The least severe of the cruel acts toward Jim is that whites often ridicule him. Another dehumanizing act is when Jim is made to hide his face in the daytime. The most foolish and ignorant idea of the whites, however, is when Silas Phelps locked up Jim. Another demonstration of the whites' folly is when Pap, Huck's father, violently objects to the granting of suffrage to a black man. Pap does not take into consideration that this man is an educated professor; he believes that he is superior to this black man simply because of the color of his skin. In actuality, however, Pap is an uneducated drunk. This adds to the irony of the white's actions.

     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

Apart from being one of the landmarks of American literature, Mark Twain’s classic tale,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a mirror of the deeply embedded racist attitudes of the Deep South in the 1880’s. First, not to mention the most controversial and obvious, is the liberal use of the “n” word throughout the book. Taken as a derogatory term by modern-day Americans, Twain’s use of the “n” word is simply a reflection of the times. Huck Finn was written when cruel and unjust treatment of colored people were commonplace and use of such a word didn’t get so much as a second thought.Huck Finn depicts a time when slaves were not treated as people but as things without emotions or personalities, mere property. For instance, Jim is initially known only in relation to whose property he is. He escapes from being continuously treated as property, even sold to a family that will most likely treat him even less humanely.

     In recent years, there has been increasing discussion of the seemingly racist ideas expressed by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In some cases, the novel has been banned by public school systems and even censored by public libraries. Along with the excessive use of the word, “nigger,” the basis for this blatant censorship has been the portrayal of one of the main characters in Huck Finn, Jim, a black slave who runs away from his owner, Miss Watson. At several points in the novel, Jim's character is described to the reader, and some people have looked upon the presented characterization as racist. However, before one begins to censor a novel it important to distinguish the ideas of the author

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 went against endless amounts of criticism about his racist’s comments in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The character of Jim is demeaning to African-Americans as he is portrayed as a foolish, uneducated, black slave. The “n” word is also used in the book describing him and many other African-American characters in the story. However, some see this book as anti-racist and believe that the use of racist’s comments is not racist at all. Those who think that are mistaken because Huck Finn in clearly a racist novel.

     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.

Another adequate example of satire conveys through Pap Finn, a racist, drunk man, who serves as a strong ironic exaggeration of slave owners and common white men. As Huck states in the novel, when Pap Finn drinks, he tends to fulminate about controversies in his life, such as criticizing the “govment”, and while doing so, he inadvertently begins to fulminate about slavery in this society. “Whenever his liquor begun to work he most always went for the government...Here’s a govment that calls itself a govment, and lets on to be a govment, and thinks it is a govment, and yet’s got to set stock-still for six whole months before it can take a-hold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free slave, and-” (36-38) While Pap Finn was ranting, he begins blaming

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"

Throughout Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, racism and slavery are two major thematic concepts pulsing through the novel. Through incidents, comments made by the characters, and statements by the narrator, Twain enables the readers to observe the attitudes of the people concerning discrimination and involuntary servitude before the Emancipation Proclamation. Not only does his use of language and comments help the reader better comprehend the social attitudes of the time period, it also enlightens the audience of Twain’s attitude towards slavery and racism. Twain is known for voicing his opinions and observations through characters, and in this novel it is no different. The audience is

Mark Twain, in the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exposes and criticises a series of flaws that had existed during the atrocities of discrimination and slavery. Throughout the fiction, Mark Twain uses vulgar and improper language to properly provide the reader a full and vividly realistic experience of prejudism during this time; in doing so, he points out the immorality of specific social problems such as the outlook on slavery. Twain leads the reader throughout the novel from the perspective of the protagonist, Huck Finn, who, interestingly, isn’t the average mundane christian child that lived back in the mid 1800s. For example, he didn’t endeavor to perform admirable deeds and reach man’s eternal bliss: heaven; instead, he desires a more dangerous approach of life that resembles a mindset similar to novel-like adventures. Huck even explicitly declares that he mind if he was

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was viewed as a racist novel, it was not. Mark Twain was viewed as the conspirator of the novel. The novel was a build on slavery and racism raising awareness, it was also a great novel. Since it was first published, Huck Finn has caused much trouble for mixed reasons, which recently included the use of racial slurs and accusations that the author himself was racist, unfortunately due to multiple issues, it had been banned. Most of this controversy comes from the repetitive use of the word “nigger” when referring to black slaves, including one of the main characters, Jim.

“but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote agin” (Twain 24). This quote by Huck’s dad, Pap, is one example of the language that is used back then. Twain does not use this language to be offensive to African Americans, but to help relay a message of how they were treated. Back then, the word nigger was an ordinary way to describe a black man or woman. Today, It is considered disrespectful because it implies a low life or being a slave.

Huckleberry Finn Famous satirical writer, Mark Twain, is seen as one of the more controversial and possibly “racist” writers. His style writing revolves around the topic of slavery and the slave era stereotypes of the past, which to some black readers, are rather offensive. Although Twain's writing is sometimes criticized for being too “ignorant”, “racist”, or “insensitive” he is still able to convey an ideal message on the problems of slavery through the portrayal of the characters in his novels. In his book, Huckleberry Finn, he does this through the fictional character Jim, a black runaway slave who joins Huck on his little adventure. Mark Twain uses Jim to portray and illustrate the life of a slave/African American, while also describing

Huck's father is absent until he finds out that Huck has found some money.  Pap is an outcast full of hate for blacks and pretty much for all of society.  Huck, as a product of his society, speaks the language of his society.  By choosing as his point-of-view a young boy from the slave south, Twain is able to present and challenge the values and assumptions of this time.  Among the assumptions and values of the time that the reader encounters in the book are the strict definitions pertaining to Huck's world and the people who inhabit it: