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The Censorship of Huckleberry Finn Essay

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The Censorship of Huckleberry Finn 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 …show more content…

One of the reasons that Huckleberry Finn was banned in the past was because people found the dialect that Twain used unintelligible and shameful to the United States. These people thought that the manner of speech in which the novel was written would make Americans appear simple-minded. This may be the case with some, but the vernacular that the author used was the real dialect that majority of the population practiced in the time period that Huck existed. The novel is not meant to put America to shame, but rather to show the reality of how people spoke and acted in the mid nineteenth century. The vernacular is yet another aspect that makes the novel truthful because it gives readers a realistic view into the life of people from that time in American history. Huckleberry Finn is also lifted into great literary status by Twain’s compelling use of symbolism. An example of this symbolism is the Mississippi River. Throughout the novel, the river symbolizes life’s journey and, eventually, Huck’s natural integrity. It represents a place of ease and safety for both Huck and Jim. There is a major difference between their life on the river and their life on the land. On the river, life for Huck is peaceful and easy yet not without its dangers, whilst life on the land is most often cruel, demanding, and deceitful. Another example is how life on the raft is a paradox because, even

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