Racism in Huck Finn

Racism in Huck Finn

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

that many people have found disturbing. Although some argue that the novel is

extremely racist, careful reading will prove just the opposite. In recent years

especially, there has been an increasing debate over what some will call the

racist ideas in the novel. In some cases the novel has even been banned by

public school systems and censored by public libraries. The basis for the debate

is how Jim, a black slave and one of the main characters, is depicted. However,

if one was to look at the underlying themes in the novel, they would realize that

it is not racist and could even be considered an anti - slavery novel.

The most popular problem people have with this book is the use of the word

"nigger". It must be remebered that during this time period it was not considered

much of an insullt. You can also notice in the book it was not meant offensively by

Huck, or taken offensively by Jim. This is what Stephan Shepard had to say about the

banning of the book and the use of the word "nigger":

In addition to removing Mark Twain 's novel from the

required reading list, the district decided to use a

censored version of the novel on its optional list.

Admittedly, the censorship is minor the infamous

"n-word" is deleted throughout the novel - however,

it is not only a dishonest alteration of Twain 's craft, it

is also an unfair attempt to enforce the tastes of a few

upon all students in the district. (Shepard 1)

Also a column in The New York Times pointed out, "Huckleberry Finn is in constant

trouble with teachers, librarians and parents because of its iterations of "nigger", a

word that has a preemptive force today that it did not have in Huck Finn 's Mississippi

Valley of the 1840s" (Ritter 2).

Another aspect of the novel that some consider racist is the

Cited: Allen, Micheal. Classic Literary Criticisms. New York: Oxford University Press. 1981 Baldanza, Frank Conn, Peter. Literature in America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Fishkin, Shelley F., Was Huck Black? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), Nichols, Timothy. Classic Criticism. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1976 Ritter, Frank