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- Date Submitted: 08/25/2011 11:02 AM
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ENC 1102
Huckleberry Finn Still on the List
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain and originally published in 1884, is perhaps of the greatest novels to have ever been written. This novel tells the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, two young boys living in Missouri along the Mississippi River. Twain’s novel however remains on the list of books to be burned in public libraries because of its perceived racism, threat and assault on religion, and outdated portrayal of African Americans.
One of the truly troubling aspects of this book arise from the fact that much of the dialect used contains racial slurs that many find offensive. The word nigger is used quite frequently in this piece of literature. In fact, it appears roughly two hundred and fifteen times. A public school administrator, John Wallace, once regarded Huckleberry Finn as “the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written.” An example of such is found in chapter eight where Huck says, “"Yes. You know that one-laigged nigger dat b'longs to old Misto Bradish? Well, he sot up a bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much (Twain 30).”
This novel shows that Mark Twain is perhaps a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in this novel make slaves look foolish. When opening the book there is a notice in the book that reads, "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot" (Twain 2). Twain uses this to show people how he is as a person. If you go against him, you may be prosecuted, banished or even shot. This...
Huckleberry Finn Still on the List
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain and originally published in 1884, is perhaps of the greatest novels to have ever been written. This novel tells the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, two young boys living in Missouri along the Mississippi River. Twain’s novel however remains on the list of books to be burned in public libraries because of its perceived racism, threat and assault on religion, and outdated portrayal of African Americans.
One of the truly troubling aspects of this book arise from the fact that much of the dialect used contains racial slurs that many find offensive. The word nigger is used quite frequently in this piece of literature. In fact, it appears roughly two hundred and fifteen times. A public school administrator, John Wallace, once regarded Huckleberry Finn as “the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written.” An example of such is found in chapter eight where Huck says, “"Yes. You know that one-laigged nigger dat b'longs to old Misto Bradish? Well, he sot up a bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much (Twain 30).”
This novel shows that Mark Twain is perhaps a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in this novel make slaves look foolish. When opening the book there is a notice in the book that reads, "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot" (Twain 2). Twain uses this to show people how he is as a person. If you go against him, you may be prosecuted, banished or even shot. This...