Huckleberry Finn Racism
Is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Racist?
Racism remains a prominent issue throughout the history of America, weaving itself into the foundation of American culture and society as a tender, sensitive subject. Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn often condemn its author, Mark Twain, for his blatant depiction of racism, and due to the sensitivity surrounding the controversial subject, many schools ban the novel from their curriculum. As a coming of age story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn narrates the journey of teenager Huckleberry Finn and his Black companion, Jim and exhibits Huck’s inner conflict regarding the morality of society’s conventions and Jim’s struggle against the consequences of the prejudiced views. Twain’s …show more content…
All of the characters in the story frequently use, almost as second nature, one prominent derogatory term, the word “nigger”. Even Huck, the protagonist, who grows to care for Jim as a friend and companion, uses the term in reference to him when declaring “It was fifteen minutes before [he] could work myself up to go and humble [himself] to a nigger…” (Twain 117). Huck’s frequent use of the derogatory term exemplifies the commonality and acceptance around its application in everyday conversation and reflects the pre-Civil war time period. In addition, Huck evidently experiences great societal influence, for he never questions the origins of the word nigger and simply follows the conventions he observes from others from an early …show more content…
Miss Watson intends on selling Jim though she wishes not to because “she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’” (Twain 60). Miss Watson’s intentions reflect the widely accepted philosophy in the south of slaves being no more than just property. However, Twain counters the common acceptance of slaves as simply property by having Huck discover the regard and love Jim possesses for his family, equivalent to that of a white man. Right before Huck tears up his letter to Miss Watson which reveals the location of Jim, Huck realizes Jim’s extreme devotion to him, truly perceives him as a friend, and disregards the previous notion society instills in him of Jim as a piece of property he needs to return to its owner. Though racism constitutes a large majority of the novel, the outcome of the novel displays how the bond of friendship functions stronger than the bigotry of
Racism remains a prominent issue throughout the history of America, weaving itself into the foundation of American culture and society as a tender, sensitive subject. Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn often condemn its author, Mark Twain, for his blatant depiction of racism, and due to the sensitivity surrounding the controversial subject, many schools ban the novel from their curriculum. As a coming of age story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn narrates the journey of teenager Huckleberry Finn and his Black companion, Jim and exhibits Huck’s inner conflict regarding the morality of society’s conventions and Jim’s struggle against the consequences of the prejudiced views. Twain’s …show more content…
All of the characters in the story frequently use, almost as second nature, one prominent derogatory term, the word “nigger”. Even Huck, the protagonist, who grows to care for Jim as a friend and companion, uses the term in reference to him when declaring “It was fifteen minutes before [he] could work myself up to go and humble [himself] to a nigger…” (Twain 117). Huck’s frequent use of the derogatory term exemplifies the commonality and acceptance around its application in everyday conversation and reflects the pre-Civil war time period. In addition, Huck evidently experiences great societal influence, for he never questions the origins of the word nigger and simply follows the conventions he observes from others from an early …show more content…
Miss Watson intends on selling Jim though she wishes not to because “she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’” (Twain 60). Miss Watson’s intentions reflect the widely accepted philosophy in the south of slaves being no more than just property. However, Twain counters the common acceptance of slaves as simply property by having Huck discover the regard and love Jim possesses for his family, equivalent to that of a white man. Right before Huck tears up his letter to Miss Watson which reveals the location of Jim, Huck realizes Jim’s extreme devotion to him, truly perceives him as a friend, and disregards the previous notion society instills in him of Jim as a piece of property he needs to return to its owner. Though racism constitutes a large majority of the novel, the outcome of the novel displays how the bond of friendship functions stronger than the bigotry of