Argumentative Essay Huck Finn
Argumentative Essay: Should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taught in school?
Daniel Perez
Period 1
10/30/14
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel based on the journey Huck, a young boy with an abusive father, and Jim, a runaway slave, have down the Mississippi River to Free states for an end goal of freedom. Freedom means different things to both of them, to Huck freedom means to be able to do what he wants and not be “sivilized”, while Jim’s definition of freedom is being able to live in peace with his wife and children. While on their journey to freedom they develop a caring unusual friendship. There is a great deal of controversy over whether or not The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools. Critics claim that the novel is an important piece of American literature and that it throws the reader into a time when slavery was lawful and accepted, and gives the reader a new perspective on slavery even if it has racial hints and discrimination. Many people including myself believe, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should not be taught in High Schools but instead taught in college because of immaturity among students, racism, and the dark use of slavery. Most of the students reading this novel are at a very immature age and are in some cases very sensitive to the material in the books. The students feel awkward and are often shocked while reading a book with repetitive use of the N- word and the discriminating words used towards the black slaves. None of them are ready for the hatred and ridicule centered on one race in this novel, this is especially true for the African American students in a predominately white school. “What do dead white male authors know about your particular situation in this particular class?”(Toni Morris). Twain was aware of the African race, but he had no perspective of how they would feel towards his novel years after its release, it is demeaning and offensive to all black students who
Daniel Perez
Period 1
10/30/14
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel based on the journey Huck, a young boy with an abusive father, and Jim, a runaway slave, have down the Mississippi River to Free states for an end goal of freedom. Freedom means different things to both of them, to Huck freedom means to be able to do what he wants and not be “sivilized”, while Jim’s definition of freedom is being able to live in peace with his wife and children. While on their journey to freedom they develop a caring unusual friendship. There is a great deal of controversy over whether or not The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools. Critics claim that the novel is an important piece of American literature and that it throws the reader into a time when slavery was lawful and accepted, and gives the reader a new perspective on slavery even if it has racial hints and discrimination. Many people including myself believe, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should not be taught in High Schools but instead taught in college because of immaturity among students, racism, and the dark use of slavery. Most of the students reading this novel are at a very immature age and are in some cases very sensitive to the material in the books. The students feel awkward and are often shocked while reading a book with repetitive use of the N- word and the discriminating words used towards the black slaves. None of them are ready for the hatred and ridicule centered on one race in this novel, this is especially true for the African American students in a predominately white school. “What do dead white male authors know about your particular situation in this particular class?”(Toni Morris). Twain was aware of the African race, but he had no perspective of how they would feel towards his novel years after its release, it is demeaning and offensive to all black students who