Examples Of Racism In Huckleberry Finn

Hannah Krivelevich, Shane Nestor, Nikki Nostro
Mrs. Cangemi
English 11H
2 June 2014
Mark Twain is not Racist
Racism is defined as “the false belief that people are divided into a hierarchy of races, with certain groups inherently superior to others by virtue of genetic inheritance.” Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is set in the southern United States directly prior to the Civil War, has frequently been criticized for highly racist content. In some extreme cases the novel has even been banned by public school systems and censored by public libraries.
The basis for these censorship campaigns has been the depiction of one of the main characters in the novel Jim, a black slave. Jim, is a "typical" black slave who runs away from his "owner"
This was a society in which people did not consider the death of a colored person to be worth their observance. A slave was considered to be nonhuman.
Twain’s usage of dialogue which is appropriate for the time period does not necessarily mean that he agrees with what is being said. Furthermore, another reason that many consider the book and its author to be prejudice is because Huckleberry Finn grows up benefitting from and accepting slavery. Growing up surrounded by slaveholders, this is only natural for the boy.
Nevertheless, as the story continues and time passes, Huck experiences a change of heart, not only beginning to realize the wrongs of slavery, but also starting to see Jim for who he really is.
As Finn is faced with the difficult decision about whether or not to protect his friend, the title character realizes that he would rather face eternal damnation in the afterlife than have to be responsible for the ultimate betrayal. A publication without any character growth or internal conflict tends to be poorly received and seen as boring. If The Adventures of Huckleberry
Readers are under the impression that Jim is an unintelligent, childlike, superstitious slave. In actuality, Jim is so much more. Jim is the moral center of the book, a man of nobility and valor, who risks not only his freedom, but also his life for the sake of his friend
Huck. He makes the most out of his situation, embracing difficulty as it comes. It is imperative

that readers recognize who is telling the story. Huckleberry Finn was a young boy who was raised under the impression that there is nothing wrong with slavery. While Huck himself is not racist, he was raised and surrounded by extreme bigots who have, even if only unconsciously, implanted their ideals into his mind. Furthermore, as unfortunate as it may be, Huck’s description of Jim was probably true to an extent. At this time, slaves in the deep South were infrequently afforded a formal education and independent thought was not fostered. Through the use of Huck and the other characters in the book, Twain is able to accurately depict slave territories before the Civil War. To claim that Twain’s accurate portrayal of the time period