In his article "Finn's Wake: Twain's 'Huckleberry' is a Flawed Masterpiece," Gene Skoler takes a stand against Mark Twain's the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn being taught in junior and senior high schools. I find Skoler's argument to be contradictory, and some of his points are simply irrational. He recognizes that Mark Twain desired to place "Huck Finn" at the pinnacle of literary realism, yet he criticizes Twain for creating characters that behave realistically and as they would if they were real people. Twain's masterpiece deserves a place in every school, not only because it is a piece of literary genius, but because it is a way for us to combat ignorance in our society.
             Skoler takes great issue with the sheer number of time the word "nigger" appears in the novel. He criticizes Twain for his frequent use of the word, apparently neglecting Twain's purpose for doing so. Twain intended to achieve unparalleled realism with "Huck Finn," a purpose which Skoler recognizes when he acknowledges the novel as "a stunning experiment in literary realism." Skoler contradicts himself as he recognizes Twain's goal of realism, yet expects him to create characters that behave unrealistically. Undoubtedly, a boy such as Huck Finn, who was raised in a southern slave state, would use the word "nigger" without hesitation. Why Skoler condemns Twain for attaining his goal of literary realism is beyond my comprehension.
             Skoler's contradiction continues with his attack on Twain for portraying Jim, and essentially black men in general, as ignorant and uneducated. Jim displayed his ignorance through his superstitions, his belief in his magic hairball, his inability to recognize that the French don't speak English, and his acceptance of Tom Sawyer's elaborate plan to set Jim free. Skoler also believes that Twain did not bes...