Preview

The Day They Came to Arrest the Book Review

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
548 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Day They Came to Arrest the Book Review
My novel ‘The Day They Came To Arrest The Book' was based upon racism in the late 70's. An era which occurred before I existed. There are many movies and books depicting events from this time, some of which I have seen or read.
I had always thought that my views on racism were somewhat close to the truth, after reading the novel I realized that I had been wrong. Therefore, this novel has altered my feelings and opinions which I had towards the treatment of the Negro race.

Before I read this novel I had only ever seen the effects of racism from a white person's point of view. After reading this I began to understand how life would have been for a black person during this time, and the effects which it would have had on their job, family and own self-esteem.

The main point of the book was whether or not, 19th century novel, Huckleberry Finn should be allowed to be a part of the school's curriculum considering its portrayal of racism. Having a mixed race school many opinions were voiced.

In the novel, Huckleberry Finn was treated like the bible. The white people swore by it. To suggest it was wrong and inappropriate, as the blacks of the community did, was something which was frowned upon. Although most of the blacks recognized the fact that Huckleberry Finn held some truth of the past.

Everyone is brought up differently, and most often people's views are a result of their parents views. My parents' views on racism have swayed me lightly. Much of what I believe has been affected by today's society itself. Since I have never experienced any first hand racism, the sort which was shown in the book, I have only this to go on.

In the novel, nearly every black child sided with his/her parents. That was to throw the book out of the school. Their parents didn't want them to be subjected to such a crude and negative portrayal of black people. Their attitude affected their children's views. To everyone's surprise, one child, was more open-minded. Gordon McLean

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    On an superficial level The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn might appear to be racist. The first time we meet Jim he is given a very negative description. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childlike, not very bright, and extremely superstitious. However, it is important not to lose sight of who is giving this description and who it is being given to. Although Huck is not a racist child, he has been raised by extremely racist individuals who have, even if only subconsciously, planted some feelings of superiority into the roots of his mind. It is also important to remember that this description, although quite saddening, is probably accurate. Jim and the millions of other slaves in the South were not given or allowed any formal education, were never allowed any independent thought and were constantly maltreated and abused. Twain is merely portraying a very realistic slave in the South during that time period. To say that Twain is racist because of his desire for historical accuracy is…

    • 755 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn has been and still is a book of much controversy. Many people believe that it should be banned, whilst others believe that it should not be banned. The people that argue that it should be banned state that the book has irrelevant and hurtful reference to the slang word for an African-American. With this argument, the importance of the literature itself is completely ignored. The most important reason that it should not be banned is that the students reading the book are taught by teachers the context and history of the word "nigger". Many people think the word is vulgar and puts much doubt in the book's message. If so, the parents can take action and have their student removed from discussion in the reading.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Censorship in Huck Finn

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Mark Twain 's classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been criticized since the day it was released. A library in Concord MA banned the book only a month after it was put into print and other libraries and schools have followed suit (Mark Twain 's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not the only story to be widely banned, but it is one of the most controversial and well known. Many people claim that the novel is racist due to the frequent use of racial slurs and the disrespect and mistreatment of the character Jim who is a runaway slave. Mark Twain 's famous novel is not a racist text because it is a historical account of the south during the 1840s, when racism was commonplace. The book 's purpose was to emphasize real life and mock the faults in human nature.…

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Yeah, "nigger." Get over it,” "You know. Now let's talk about the book."~ David Bradley, University of Oregon. So much controversy has come from this outstanding novel. Should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain be taught in schools? Many and the majority of those who are opposed to it being taught in schools believe it is wrong to teach it because of the so constant use of the word “nigger”. I believe one understand that this was the language that was used back then and see past it to get the true and deep meanings of this novel. It teaches great morals and values, demonstrates what a true friendship is, and teaches many outstanding life lessons.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Gary Black first experiences racial prejudice and begin to develop awareness of the racism around him. As we read on we will understand and discover how Gary changes, how is affected by racism and how he reacts from others. Discuss.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism is heavily present in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which can be offensive to not only blacks but also whites and other races uncomfortable with the content in the book. In source C, Lester claims that the content in Huckleberry Finn “demeans blacks and insults history”. Lester says that in The…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most well known books in American literature. This book gives the reader insight into what the South was like during the days of slavery. One man claimed this book was one of America's, "first indigenous literary masterpiece." (Walter Dean Howells) However many people wish to censor this book or remove it from schools entirely. Censoring this book doesn't allow the reader to have a full comprehension of how slaves and free black people were treated during that time period.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    is racism and segregation betwixt the two races.These novels teach tons of lessons in which many could…

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being black, which led to prejudice was a main theme in this entire book. There was not only a prejudice between whites and blacks, but between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned blacks. Lighter-skinned blacks tried to act as if they were higher class to the darker skinned blacks.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The fact that the novel is realistic is another reason why it is a masterpiece undeserving of censorship. It shows the readers how far society has come from those times when slavery was an everyday part of life. This nation has transformed into one based on freedom and equality and Huckleberry Finn shows the true extent of that transformation by presenting to us the major difference in circumstances people experienced in the past. It shows how African Americans were looked on as insignificant and as merely possessions to be bought or sold which, in turn, shows us how our nation has bettered. Therefore, Huckleberry Finn does not…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Racism

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    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.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Dynamic Duo

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remains to be one of the most controversial books that are taught in schools today. Many argue that it is racist and perpetuates inaccurate stereotypes. Although Mark Twain uses racism throughout the book, the novel should still be taught in schools. Even though there is a lot of controversy, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deserves to be taught in schools because it uncovers problems of intolerance and teaches readers valuable lessons about human nature and society.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author was very successful in proving her point about the racism going on in the world. She first proved a point by telling her story because she is admitting that racism is something, and how she knows that it is. Her purpose was to inform people that racism is something and if someone that is young with a very racist family can overlook those things her family did, then she knows that people now can start to overlook t what happened in the…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics