Huck Finn, should it be banned
Controversial in death as he was in life, Mark Twain has been critically accused by some as being a "racist writer." These critics believe his writing is insulting to the black readers of his books and deserves no place on today's bookshelves. Many others believe the previous idea is falsely believed. At several points in the novel, Jim's character is described to the reader as stupid and childlike, and some people have looked upon the characterization as racist. Believing that Twain is only racist toward the black people is incredibly farfetched. He is just as chauvinistic towards the white society in the novel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the basis for all American literature. Without Huck Finn, America would have never been blessed with great pieces of literature from such people as Hemmingway. Ernest Hemmingway himself once stated that truth. That, among other reasons, is why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, should not be banned from the high school curriculum. On a superficial level, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can appear to be racist. The first time the reader meets Jim, a very negative description is given. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childlike,
It shows the lack of care the whites had for blacks, thus, the whites have lost nearly all of the black people's respect. Another example of racism in the novel is a form of prejudice against whites. The anti-black feelings of this novel are the most obvious forms of racism. In today's age, the ideas of racism have definitely changed. I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a state in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. The characterization of Jim is presumably accurate about any slave during that time period. This quote is evidence that Huck is superior to the rest of the white society. Slavery is no more, and even the use of such language as the "N-word," is considered vulgar. By the end of the novel, Huck and the reader have come to understand that Jim is not someone's property and an inferior man, but an equal. He was taught to turn in runaway slaves, but he promises Jim that he will not tell anyone where Jim is at, "People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum - but that makes no difference.
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