Reality of Huck Finn

A Novel Is What It Is
Realism or Racism Not many high school English teachers would argue against the importance of teaching English Literature in the school system. Many benefits come from reading these texts; for example, learning new vocabulary, which can increase one’s style of writing; learning different viewpoints, which gives a different way of looking at the world; and understanding modern culture, which allows the readers to see, through literature, how history has developed through time. The importance of teaching literature has not been at the forefront of any teaching debate; however, what types of literature to allow in the classroom has most certainly been a source of controversy. Ernest Hemingway wrote, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn;’” yet this book has continued to sustain at the forefront of controversy for many years in the American school setting due to racial connotations and strong language. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included on high school reading lists because it allows realism to be felt through storytelling, racial episodes, and sensitive language. Storytelling of past events that have happened in history play an important part of who people are today and aids in giving explanation of how certain roles have been set in place in our society. People are not living on this Earth going through life without having some kind of thought process of how things were before them. Most people have fond memories of visiting their grandparents and listening to stories of how it was in the olden days. It is just a fact, most people are curious about how life and times were before them; and the only way to learn about these mysterious times is to have them told, whether it be on the knee of your grandpa or through stories from books. Jocelyn Chadwick, a Graduate School of Education professor and a Twain scholar, is a strong proponent for keeping The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in school libraries today. She promotes the importance of learning lessons of realism through reading stories that show a more realistic view of how life was in the 1800s. She believes that Huck Finn is a great read and feels that there are great lessons to be learned from reading and discussing this novel. Learning is an essential part of survival, which does not always take on a positive tone but nonetheless an important one; and literature gives one the opportunity to experience some familiar and some unfamiliar territories.
In particular, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a perfect example of familiar and unfamiliar territories for different readers. Those readers that are of an African descent are very familiar with slavery and prejudice and most likely experience a feeling much different than the readers that have very little personal experience with prejudice. Chadwick, an African American woman, believes that Huck Finn is also important because of the historical context the story relates about slaves. She is in tuned to her family history, where her ancestors and slavery can be traced on both sides of her family. Chadwick’s parents gave her a copy of Huckleberry Finn when she was a child. It was important to her parents to face racism head on. She said, “My parents gave me ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ when I was 7 years old, ‘nigger’ and all. My father didn’t want to hide from anything” (Powell). This novel is an important read because it is about slavery and relations between black and white people at a time when slavery issues were coming to a head politically leading to the civil war. The youth of today may express that slavery happened years ago and is over with so we should forget about it and move on; however, learning about slavery and how slaves were viewed and treated can be an important lesson to learn in the way of compassion. Learning about slavery through the eyes of Huck could help some to become sensitive to the struggles that blacks have had to endure throughout history, which could result in the practice of tolerance, support, and understanding of black people and even perhaps all races.
In addition, the fact that Huckleberry Finn is still found entertaining after all of these years shows just what a great book it is. One of the most exciting aspects in reading this novel is the dialogue that is presented throughout. Mark Twain shows an incredible attention to detail when using the many different dialects such as the backwoods Southwestern dialect, the Missouri negro dialect, and the Pike County dialect. Basically, everyone in the book speaks a little different dialect. Twain said in his prologue that he did a lot of research on dialect, “The shadings have not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech. I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding” (Twain). Twain was trying to allow the reader to experience realism in how these characters of that time spoke, such as when Jim says, “Say, who is you? Well, I know what I’s gwyne to do: I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin” (Twain Chapter 2). Without showing how Jim speaks this broken language, it really cheats the reader of understanding who Jim was and how he spoke. Great writers produce great books when their writing allows the reader to feel as though they were right there in the story or perhaps even feel as though they were one with the character; and in order to achieve that feeling, the words and the storyline have to be realistic or the message may lose believability. In contrast, opponents take a stand on the unnecessary teachings of racism and the use of unacceptable language. In opposition of facing racial issues openly, John Wallace, who was a former administrator at the Mark Twain Intermediate School and served on the Human Relations Committee, campaigned heavily for the removal of Huck Finn from the school’s reading list. The school’s principal voted in favor of adhering to one that served on the Human Relations Committee; however, the superintendent of the district overturned his decision. This setback did not stop Wallace’s efforts. He used his voice to campaign at other school districts to join in his efforts to remove the novel from their reading list. As well, he has spent many years traveling around and appearing on television shows such as ABC’s Nightline and CNN’s Freeman Reports for his cause claiming that “black children are embarrassed and humiliated by the legitimization of ‘nigger’ in public schools” (Webb). Wallace also felt that, “The treatment of Jim and of blacks in general gave pause to even the most flexible reader.” Wallace’s allegiance to removing Huckleberry Finn from public schools inspired him to write an adapted version of the novel, one that denounces the use of racial words (Webb). No doubt that there is sensitive language that is used in Huck Finn just as there is a negative tone in the way blacks are treated in this story and specifically in the way Jim is treated throughout the novel; however, Wallace gives no rebuttal as to how readers can learn something positive from events that have been around in history for many years and which have slowly evolved over the years in an effort to break free from racism. This can only happen through education and facing issues head on. When there is an understanding of past circumstances, our present circumstances will allow one to explore another’s message or life, even those separated from us by time and social barriers. Racism and the mistreatment of Jim are prevalent in this novel. According to The Washington Times, Jim “is in fact the moral compass of the novel.” However, what Wallace and many others do not see is the lesson that is clearly taught when Twain’s character constantly corrects Huck which eventually gives him a different outlook. By the end of the novel, Huck is committed to rescuing Jim and has evolved from his initial opinion of Jim to having more understanding of his race; “Twain deflates the silliness of racial stereotypes with no trace of the peachiness and smugness that afflict so many of racism’s latter day critics. If this be racism, students ought to get more of it” (Washington Post Times).
Moreover, American Literature is full of important lessons that help us discover important differences. Literature allows the discovery of common human ways of understanding life, the differences in human ideas, beliefs, and societies. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn allows us to gain a sense of compassion for and knowledge of other races through the realism that Twain gives us in this novel. Not everyone reads a piece of literature and comes away with the exact same lesson or meaning of what is read. What may offend one, does not offend another. What may touch one’s heart may not touch another’s, but the important thing to remember is that the reader is feeling something and with the guidance of our teachers, is hopefully using those feelings to communicate, learn, and grow as a human being in society; therefore, it is important to allow all great works of literature to have the opportunity to reach the classrooms of our students today and what better novel to start with than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which allows the reader to experience these lessons and many, many more.

Works Cited
Hentoff, Nat. “Deconstructing Huckleberry Finn.” The Washington Times 11 Mar. 1995: D2. Print
Powel, Alvin. Fight Over Huck Finn Continues: Ed School Professor Wages Battle for Twain Classic. The Harvard University Gazette, 28 Sept. 2000. Web. Nov. 2012
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Vol. 1. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.
Webb, Allen. Racism and Huckleberry Finn: Censorship, Dialogue, and Change. Western Michigan University, July 2002. Web. Nov. 2012.

Cited: Hentoff, Nat. “Deconstructing Huckleberry Finn.” The Washington Times 11 Mar. 1995: D2. Print Powel, Alvin. Fight Over Huck Finn Continues: Ed School Professor Wages Battle for Twain Classic. The Harvard University Gazette, 28 Sept. 2000. Web. Nov. 2012 Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Vol. 1. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print. Webb, Allen. Racism and Huckleberry Finn: Censorship, Dialogue, and Change. Western Michigan University, July 2002. Web. Nov. 2012.