Racism In Huck Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Mark Twain classic, wonderfully demonstrates pre-Civil War attitudes about blacks held by whites. Twain demonstrates these attitudes through the actions and the speech of Huckleberry Finn, the narrator, and Jim, Miss Watson's slave. These two main characters share a relationship that progresses from an acquaintance to a friendship throughout the novel. It is through this relationship that Mark Twain gives his readers the realization of just how different people's attitudes were before the Civil War. Twain also reveals the negative attitudes of whites toward blacks by the cruel manner in which Jim is treated with such inferiority.

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.

     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

Kids are often exposed to books long before they are ready for them or exposed to them in a manner that seems almost calculated to evaporate whatever enthusiasm the student may bring to them. Very few youngsters of high school age are ready for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Leaving aside its subtle depiction of racial attitudes and its complex view of American society, the book is written in a language that will seem baroque, obscure and antiquated to many young people today. The vastly sunnier Tom Sawyer is a book for kids, but The Adventures for Huckleberry Finn most emphatically is not. (Baker 114)

to look past conformist and the effects of his environment. Huck was born into a

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"

Friendship Doesn’t Stop at Skin Color “I have a dream that one day… little black boys and black girls will be able to hold hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (King). In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck, encourages the equality our society has today when he doesn’t let race come in between a friendship. Huck isn’t racist because he helps set Jim free, he feels guilt for Jim, and he becomes friends with Jim.

As Huck and Jim make their escape down the Mississippi, they encounter various characters that conform to regular society. Critics of Huck Finn argue that it is racist because it portrays African Americans in a bad light and white people as the superior people. Lester states that white people enjoy Huck Finn because the stereotypical portrayal of Jim “permits their own “humanity” to shine with more luster. ”(306) However, when thoroughly analyzing the book, it can be seen that this is not true.

Racism has been a problem for a long time. The story “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” talks a lot about racism. In this story, Jim was a running way slave. Throughout the book Huck, the main characters in the story treat Jim badly pranking him and making him feel bad until they become friends Huck decide to help Jim escape to the free state. In this story, the word nigger used to describe slaves/African. Pap, Huck Finn’s harsh father is a very racist person who sees blacks people as property. “But when they told me there was a state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote…..I says to the people the people why ain’t this nigger put up to auction and sold?” (pg.26). pap didn’t want to vote for the state he was live in because blacks/slaves

Some literary critics agree with Ernest Hemingway that "all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn… it's the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since,” (Hemingway). While others feel that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn does not belong in the literary canon and that it “is itself literally incoherent” (Jehlen). Unquestionably, it is now one of the “most often debated major work in American literature” (Fertig). Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has caused several controversies, one major debate is whether if it is racist or not.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain are not racist Race was common in 1884 when the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was published, and still exists today. There is a lot of controversy regarding whether or not Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is racist. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist, Mark Twain uses racism shown in characterization, Jim and Huck’s friendship, and language to show the reader that racism is wrong. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist, but uses racism in the book though horrible people who support racism to show the reader that racism is bad. One example of this characterization in the book is, “It was ‘lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk

In a society where the predominant view holds Caucasian men superior, finding support for a contradictory opinion proves to be an uncompromising task. During times of intense segregation in America, one would face ridicule if he or she attempted to publicly profess that black men are not inferior to white men. Mark Twain uses his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to support this perspective. Through Twain’s contrasting characterization, he is able to affirm his notion that the average African American is just as noble as the typical Caucasian individual.

The story tells the life of the American South before the Civil War. The nigger Jim, who is an industrious and simple, honest and enthusiasm, and loyal, heard that his mistress would sell him, so he fled to the north. In the midway, Jim encountered Huckleberry who is a smart, kind, and brave white boy. Huckleberry was unbearable his father’s beaten while wandering outside. They live in the pursuit of freedom, fled to the Mississippi River.