Preview

Racism And Slavery In Huck Finn

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
852 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism And Slavery In Huck Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is often considered the greatest American novel ever written. In writing Huck Finn Twain explores many different themes. Among the themes he chooses to expand on are the Mississippi River, the intellectual versus moral education of Huck, the hypocrisy of civilized society, childhood, lies and cons, superstitions, the value of money, religion, and racism and slavery. This paper will explore the theme of racism and slavery. Racism and slavery is shown throughout the novel by being expressed through different characters opinions, and the moral of what is right and wrong in Huck’s time era. In this novel Huck has to make the hardest decision of his life based on the theme of racism and slavery. For an example, of racism and slavery is when Huck is running to the raft after escaping from the King and Duke. He …show more content…
He rambles on in a sarcastic tone of ways the government is messed up and ruining his life. In his list of things he says, “But when they told me there was a state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote again.” (27) What Pap means is he can’t believe that someone (in his opinion) who should be picking corn in a cornfield is voting for a president in his country. Now imagine you are eating at the front of the restaurant. All of a sudden a person walks in and goes to the front desk saying they would like to apply for a job. The manager comes out and takes a look at their resume and saids it looks great. They say they will hire them on the condition if there not a homosexual. The person looks comfortable and says they are. The manger hands back the resume and says they’ll have to pass on the offer and walks away. Just like the Manger, Pap couldn’t accept change and viewed it in racist way to the point where it affect his life and moral

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn and Racism

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the book, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the main character Huck, is able to look past conformist and the effects of his environment. Huck was born into a…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huckleberry Finn: Racism

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Mark Twains' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important decisions. The first one is how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson's Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson because he cares deeply for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson's Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"1 , is taking crap there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"2 , but Huck is happy to have someone to talk with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is scared. Huck gets Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It's good daylight, le's get breakfast"3 , showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck say's "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don't make no difference I aint gonna tell"4 . Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no showing over his kindness. When taken into consideration good decisions are much more important in the long run than being the smartest person. After traveling with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray. He felt by helping Jim he was committing a sin, but he later realized "you can't pray a lie"5 . Huck saying this shows that he feels what he has done for Jim is not wrong; instead what others had done to Jim is wrong. Still not sure of what to do about the…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a racist. That’s what many people believe, but it’s simply not true. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck is not a racist because he helps Jim to freedom, befriends African Americans, and he generally respects Jim.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is an American masterpiece. Contrary to The Algerine Captive Mark Twain‘s satire and irony is emphasized through the style and the use of the American “vernacular” dialect for the first time as well as the use of the African-American dialect. Therefore Huckleberry Finn remains the work that elevates this onetime rustic humorist into the ranks of literary genius. It is considered by Satirist Dick Gregory once said that Twain “was so far ahead of his time that he shouldn’t even be talked about on the same day as other people Huckleberry Finn is considered as the first American Novel and aimed at forging an American identity independent from the European one. The Novel, hence, satirize the paradoxical issues of slavery and the hypocrisy of the society as well as the deep intuitions of America.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn-Racism

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    By: HJK Is Huck Finn A Racist Book? 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 White society? Many readers misinterpret racist remarks by characters in the novel as reflections of Twain's own beliefs supporting slavery. These claims, though, can be easily repudiated by some of Twain's comparisons between whites and blacks made outside of Huck Finn; for instance when he said, "One of my theories is that the hearts of men are all alike, all over the world, whatever their skin complexion may be". This brings into question the reason for Twain's frequent use of the word "nigger", not to mention the exceedingly racist views harbored by most characters. It is true that the book is peppered with racist stereotypes, lewd remarks belittling blacks, and the use of the word "nigger" over 200 times, but it is all part of the irony. Twain wrote this book not only to challenge the system of slavery, but also to do so with the most effective of literary devices: the truth. Huck Finn is not racist: It is a profound social statement on the inhumanity of slavery and of every individual's born right to freedom. In chapter 32, Aunt Sally and Huck discuss a steamboat explosion: "Good Gracious! Anyone hurt?" asks Aunt Sally. " No'm. Killed a nigger." " Well it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt." This passage highlights Twain's use…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn in Education

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Grace Wang Mr. Shimazaki Am Lit 12/18/12 Huck Finn in Education For education to serve its purpose of helping students develop an understanding of themselves and the world around them, it must provide uncensored information and ideas. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn undoubtedly supports that goal of education. The classic novel discusses issues regarding society’s greed and cowardice through a young boy’s, Huck Finn, perspective. Huck Finn is born into the American, white south during the mid 1800s when slavery and racism towards blacks was the norm. He is influenced by his surroundings to believe that slavery is right. The “civilized” adults dictate to him the nature of blacks as property. However, as a rebellious adolescent, Huck runs away from his home and journeys down the Mississippi river with a black slave named Jim. Across this adventure, Huck develops a different set of morals from his culture and slowly comes to view Jim as a person and a friend. America’s past white, southern culture is a testament to the gruesome reality of society’s ability to institutionalize its selfish nature. Mark Twain emphasizes in a genuine manner the ignorance of America’s slave-holding past and the importance of questioning the morals of society and as such, the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is worthy of belonging in compulsory education.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Sample Outline

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Huck Finn Sample Outline I. Introduction A. Those readers and critics who simply disregarded Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and labeled Mark Twain a racist, did not take the time to explore and evaluate Chapter fifteen. This poignant chapter marks the critical starting point of Huck and Jim’s relationship as Huck learns a valuable lesson in recognizing how his selfish games can harm a person, even a nigger. And, perhaps, most impressively, Mark Twain’s teachable moment is put in the hands of Jim, a runaway slave, the unlikeliest of heroes. Specifically, the chapter’s conclusion highlights Jim’s sensitive and sentimental nature as Huck’s friend, teacher, and father; and further relays Huck’s ignorant yet impressionable nature as Jim’s friend, student, and son.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tells a story which occurs in an American society prior to the civil war, a time period where discrimination against a person of African descent was extensive and acknowledged. The motif of true integrity versus what society defines as ethical appears frequently in the book. Accompanying the main protagonist, Huckleberry on his adventures, the reader is to understand how the motif is viewed through the eyes of a developing child and the citizens around him. Over the course of the novel, the author uses juxtaposition to underline the theme of slavery in the book; focusing on how it is seen by various Caucasian American characters.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism In Huck Finn

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Is or isn’t Huck Finn racist? Does reading Huck Finn help or harm race relations?…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Racism in Huck Finn

    • 2499 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Racism in Huck Finn Ever since it was written, Mark Twain 's Huckleberry Finn has been a novel…

    • 2499 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In spite of the fact that there are still a few discernable hints of clear prejudice in the novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the creator utilizes portrayal to pass on an abolitionist servitude message. A standout amongst the best ways Twain does this is by making Jim, a character who is a gotten away slave and who at first appears to exemplify a considerable lot of the generalizations of slaves or African-Americans amid this period, for example, the inclination to be superstitious and submissive to the solicitations of whites, in spite of the reality he has gotten away. As this character examination of Jim in Huck Finn recommends, by speaking to Jim as a standout amongst the most solid, slightest misleading, most legitimate and minding characters in the content, this novel creates an impression about the lip service of the establishment of servitude and about the whites who bolster the foundation.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    An Analysis of Huckleberry Finn: The Absurdity of a “Sivilized” Society Authors often express their views on any given subject through their works, and Mark Twain is no exception. One may read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and believe it is simply a novel about a young boys childhood; however, a deeper analysis of the text reveals many of Mark Twain’s expressions about important moral and social issues. Perhaps one of the most prominent being the frailty of human justice and the hypocrisy we as a people foster in our societies. Throughout the novel, Huck meets people who appear to be good, civilized people, but always end up having a hypocritical fault about them. Though not every instance is a grave matter, Twain’s writing shows that societies in Huck’s world are based upon corrupted laws and principles that defy basic logic. Twain’s writing leaves the reader with an understanding that cowardice, illogical choices, and selfish as well as hypocritical people mark these societies.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn reaserch notes

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Critical Lens Research Huck Finn's much-discussed "moral crises" in chapters 16 and 31 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are conventionally regarded as climactic moments in the ongoing drama of his moral growth. Underwriting such readings is the notion that they reveal Huck's dynamic character, his dawning recognition of Jim's humanity and his gradual rejection of his society's racism. But running beneath and opposing this narrative of Huck's moral growth is a counter narrative of moral backsliding, within which Huck persists in denying the legitimacy of his relationship with Jim; he continues, in other words, to see Jim as a "nigger" and himself as, even worse, a "nigger-stealer."…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Huck Finn Essay Example

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Mark Twain’s famous realist novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a masterpiece of social criticism and analysis. The author skillfully depicts a variety of human failings and foibles, personified in the characters of everyday people and groups. Twain appears to be satirizing and criticizing the old South, but underneath his humorous portrait of Southern social issues, the book is a serious critique of all humanity. With his typical biting satire, Twain points out social issues such as racism, and lynching, as well as human character flaws like religious hypocrisy, gullibility, and violent natures. Many characters Huck meets in the book illustrate common temperamental flaws, as well as defining familiar Southern stereotypes.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Paper

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The audience follows Huck’s perspective as his efforts are invested in protecting a slave named Jim. Mark Twain created Huck out of the stereotypical image of young boys in the South – an uneducated troublemaker. By the end of the book, his maturity has grown enough to accept racial differences. Mark Twain’s stance on racism was a difficult message to spread when the nation was separated between pro/anti-slavery. Surrounded by friendships with delinquents, a racist society, and the rushed process of maturity, Huck Finn impressively carries the ability to overcome these factors that cleverly suited him into Mark Twain’s message. Because of the controversy around racism, Huck’s age plays into the common sense that the people of the South lacked before the Civil War. Huck’s personality and age is ironic because he stands as a more likable, mature character than the rest of society that was presented by Twain – older, selfish, and ironic contradictions in their religious beliefs.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays