Huck even tries to help an African American escape from slavery. When Twain wrote this book, he did not necessarily worry about his influence when he used certain dialogue or language, he just wanted to tell a very real story. Twain used words such as the "N" word , not to display racism, but t show How ignorant it…
Twain's masterpiece was ruined when people thought the word nigger was too explicit to be said. People wanted to change the word or they didn't want their kids to read the book. “Huck’s note will now call Jim a “Runaway slave” (Leonard Pitts. Jr). Changing writer's words isn’t original for the writer. Twain is a famous original writer and it’s not your…
Time and time again art has been criticized for being too vulgar and expressive, Mark Twain was one of these individuals who participated in art, he was raised in the generation where slavery was common and racial slurs were frequently used. So to criticized and censor his work for writing what he grew up knowing would be like punishing Huck Finn for stealing things from others when he was told it was borrowing all his life by his pa “Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it” (Chp. 12 Pg, 49). I strongly disagree with the fact that people want to ‘update and improve’ the classic “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because it uses a term that is found offensive frequently in todays generation. My problem with this posse that wants to change the wording of the book is that, their biggest concern to why they want to change the word “nigger” to “slave” is that they’re doing for the children, trying to make it more comfortable for them to read and protecting the youth from frowned upon terms. If this is their concern then why are they singling out books and classics from decades ago, why not focus on the books being published now with the terms “whore” “slut” or “trailer trash” in it? To me those are equally offensive terms. John Foley once said that he thinks “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee’s classic about racial inequality in the Deep South, and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”(Source A) should be removed from the curriculum for similar reasons” all because they show the reader the time gap between the setting of the writing and the present of today even though in the beginning of all books they tell you what time frame the story is held in “SCENE: The Mississippi Valley; TIME: Forty to Fifty Years Ago” (Page 0).…
Huckleberry Finn is a novel written in 1884 by Mark Twain at the end of the American reconstruction era. During this time there blacks were still treated unequally, and a large amount of ignorance between the races was present. As a child Mark Twain often witnessed the harsh cruelty slaves had to endure and as he grew older began to empathize with them, and through those emotions he created this novel. He created a book from the view point of a young boy who was considered white trash at the time and kept true to the accents and phrases the different races used at the time. This included the word nigger which although today is considered extremely inappropriate, in the past it was a common term used by whites to label blacks. Using satire to show how absurd racism and prejudice was. Over a hundred years later this novel is still considered a classic, however, a controversy has arisen over the harsh language often used in the novel.…
The book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been argued over for years about why it should be banned from being taught in schools since it uses the terms “nigger” and “injun”, both of which are looked down on in today's society for regular use. The reality behind the use of these is that they are put in to satirize that culture.…
In an editorial published by The New York Times, the author sees the altering of Mark Twain’s language within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an desecration of a rich piece of literature, and does not approve of a new “sanitized” edition of the novel. Although the intention of the novel’s editor was to replace certain words with less offensive phrases, the article’s author sees the replacement of “nigger” with “slave” as a corruption of a historical language. The “n-word” will be identified as the worser term and the substituted word will be viewed as having no relation to the wickedness of slavery. The author argues that the beauty and significance of “Huckleberry Finn” is its ability to precisely interpret the detailed dialect of the time period, and would be severely damaged if another writer would transform its original context.…
Though many people rightly believe that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be used in schools today; many people often oppose to the use of this novel in high schools due to various reasons. One reason many naysayers say that the novel should not be used in schools today is due to the use of the N-word. According to their defense, the N-word often is offensive to blacks out there because it reminds them of what is used to be like, when there was slavery. It brings everybody back to times when blacks, or African Americans, were most often associated with violence and hate, because not many whites treated them fairly (Huckleberry). Another reason many critics say the novel should not be used in high schools today is due to how the novel…
American writer, Stephen Chbosky, once said “Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It…
A trashy and racist book wouldn't be allowed in classrooms. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is receiving negative attention. The dominant problem that students, parents, teachers, and even professors, face , is the usage of the n-word. After reading this adventurous story, it is hard to find the problem that is upsetting many people. Therefore, this incredible novel should continue to be in the high school curriculum because it offers students a realistic historical background, it receives numerous positive reactions, and the meaning of the word nigger, (referred to as the n-word) is changing over time.…
There is a large and heated debate that argues if the word “nigger” should be left in or removed from The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Although there are many valid reasons as to why the N- word should be removed from the novel, it should remain in the book because it gets the reader's attention by showing the way people used to talk back…
The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a controversial book. Some people will say that it is a racist book, while others will argue that it isn’t a racist book. People don’t like the book's use of the word, “nigger”. The ‘n’ word appears 219 times in the novel (Phillip Rawls). Huck Finn is not a racist book because Twain made Jim a likable character, he used that word for a reason, and Twain is a realism writer.…
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 to think that Twain considering the era was racist would ludicrous.…
Ultimately, Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist novel. Through his recurring use of the n-word as well as the relationships and stereotypes he spotlights, Twain wishes to show his readers the faults in a racist society, as well as push them to find their own moral truths. If society is to progress beyond unjust prejudices and mistreatment due to race then, like Huck, everyone must venture out into the world and formulate their own views and opinions rather than blindly follow outdated traditions such as…
According to the “Boston Transcript”, Huckleberry Finn is “regarded as trash and is more suited to the slums than to intelligent, respectable people” (“Boston Transcript” 308).The language used by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn is offensive and depicts humor during this period of time. According to the “Harvard Gazette”, "The n-word is spoken there a number of times," said NAACP Pennsylvania state President Charles Stokes. "The concern we have is that to a black child it might be damaging. Also to a white child, or a Hispanic child, those words could be damaging" (Powell). Parents as well as high schools and colleges have demanded that Huckleberry Finn not be taught. The thinking behind Twains, writings is that it will only strike discord between the races. Huckleberry Finn is consider to be a stereotype of racists and language and instead of bringing light to this time in history and the building of a relationship it is poking fun. The belief of that if our country is to move on from racism and division writings like Huckleberry Finn should not be taught (Yee). Huckleberry Finn is outdated and portrays a society that stood at odds and more writings of unity should be taught to reflect changes of…
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, slavery was still very common and people didn’t think twice about mistreating a black person. This is portrayed many times in Huck Finn, as the word ‘nigger’ is perpetually used, to show how they treated blacks verbally.…