Racism Through the Decades: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

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

Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves.  However one must ask if Twain is encouraging

The King and Duke pretend to be from England in order to pull off a heist, and they are roped into a conversation with the townspeople in which they compare the ways in which servants and slaves are treated. “’How is servants treated in England? Do they treat ‘em better ‘n we treat our niggers?’ ‘No! A servant ain’t nobody there. They treat them worse than dogs.’”(131) These discussions conjure up a comparison to the treatment of animals, while at the same time dehumanizing slaves by calling them “niggers.” Slaves were considered property at the time, not even considered fellow humans to some. Despite the many people who remain racist throughout the book, Huck begins to connect with Jim as the story progresses.

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.

Twain is merely revealing the harsh truth of society in a subtle tone. It is also important to remember that Mark Twain’s description of Jim was not being racist but honest. Back in their era majority of black slaves were non-educated, ignorant, never allowed independence, and were maltreated. Twain was merely using the historical accuracy to his advantage in the novel for a heightened impact.

It is also important to remember that this description, although quite saddening, is probably accurate. Jim and the millions of other slaves in the South were not given or allowed any formal education, were never allowed any independent thought and were constantly maltreated and abused. Twain is merely portraying a very realistic slave in the South during that time period. To say that Twain is racist because of his desire for historical accuracy is absurd. He simple strives to show a true representation of society’s view of slaves.

portraying a very realistic slave raised in the South during this time period, and to

In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, Huck and an escaped slave, Jim, sail down the river trying to get to the free states. This novel was written during a time when being “civilized” meant having slaves and treating African American people poorly. Today, however, this is not the case, and many people question whether or not Twain was racist. Mark Twain is not racist because he portrays repulsive characters as racist, reveals that many people disagree with slavery, and shows that Huck dismisses being “civilized”. Mark Twain is not racist because he portrays vulgar characters as racist, which makes the reader question whether or not they want to agree with such a horrible character.

In the novel ​The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, Proves to us that in the early years there was a lot of racism that affected a lot of people thinking and how they were portrayed as bad people that were useless to the world and that they were like animals not a person.

Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has been the subject of conflict for the past decades. It is said to be racist given the term, “Nigger”, well-over 200 times and Twain’s portrayal of Jim, Huckleberry’s loyal friend, a runaway slave, is also thought by many as a form of racism.

he tries to help Tom near the end, he is not shown as a human being, but at

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a very controversial book due to its use of racism. Although the racism in the book is historically accurate and is meant to make the reader uncomfortable, many want to rid The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from schools. Huck Finn experiences this racism everyday and grew up with this racism. Huck’s views of slaves are higher morally than many people’s during the time, however. An example of Huck’s morals is seen when he becomes friends with Jim very quickly on the island.

“From 1876 to 1895 black people were denied political recognition, forced into share cropping, lynched, involved in convict lease systems and intimidated in many different ways… process of “freeing the free Negro’” (Nilon 62). Many blacks were forced to endure cruel and immoral characteristics during the time of Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the late 1800’s to today. Huckleberry Finn is a white young boy that is prejudiced against blacks at the age of 13. He meets Jim, an African America man who escapes from his slave owner and is trying to find his family and gain his freedom for them and himself. Huck and Jim struggle with choosing what is right from wrong; Huck’s morals grow and develop, and he learns to judge a person by their character rather than their skin color. Many accuse Huck Finn of being racist, insensitive and criticized for its influence on a younger generation, yet it is for these reasons that this novel should be taught in schools; to further teach the historical

Within his criticism of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Gregory Fowler uses examples from both the book and Mark Twain’s own life to discuss the different ways in which racism has morphed. Instead of analyzing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn critically and solely, Gregory Fowler critically analyzes parts of the book and its effect to prove the different ways in which slaver morphs through the uses of allusions, exemplifications, and anecdotes.

It’s considered to be the greatest book in American literature, written after the civil war, deep in the south of the progressing America. Author Mark Twain uses Huckleberry (Huck) Finn as the books young narrator to illustrate how America is constantly changing, and is engulfed by prejudice, as well as showing Americas culture through the view of a young boy. As his adventures continue you finds himself on a journey with an escaped slave, Jim, together they must experience what it is like to be an African American in the south. By using Huck as the narrator, the reader can see the events of what happened in the south in a whole new way.