Preview

Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Banned In Schools Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1447 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Banned In Schools Essay
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, authored by Mark Twain is a story of a young runaway boy who develops a close bond with an escaping slave as they travel down the Mississippi River together. However this exciting, adventurous story of two boys caused a huge controversy: as it pushed the idea of authority, made a joke of religion, condemns racial slurs, and presents insulting language. This has sparked attention from the media more than a century after being published and is causing an outrage from people, banning it from schools. Taking place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, dating back to the time of 1835, the novel follows the travels of a young 10 year old boy Huckleberry Finn, and his runaway slave friend Jim. The two set off on a journey …show more content…
Through my eyes the way Twain chose his language and vocabulary is just a reflection of how people spoke back then, and how history laid itself out. In regards to the idea of banning the novel in schools I don't agree, school is meant for teaching children and this novel teaches how the South was back then. You can’t hide children from the facts of reality just because times have changed and things aren't the way they used to be. Instead of hiding these children from the novel and the reality of the use of the “N” word, why not present this book to them to show how times have changed? Teach them the ways things used to be previously, and show them the progress made in society. If you want to teach kids about history, show them raw evidence of how it used to be so they can process the hardships faced in the South instead of reading monotonous text from a history book and hiding them from the facts of reality. No matter how hard you hide it from children, it doesn't change the facts of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told from a uneducated, young boys point of view. This book was for the longest looked at as inappropriate to some readers but that did not change the booked popularity. The two main characters in this book were Jim and Huck; Jim being s run away slave and Huck wanting to help him escape. This book tells the typical American life back then and it is reality.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Time and time again art has been criticized for being too vulgar and expressive, Mark Twain was one of these individuals who participated in art, he was raised in the generation where slavery was common and racial slurs were frequently used. So to criticized and censor his work for writing what he grew up knowing would be like punishing Huck Finn for stealing things from others when he was told it was borrowing all his life by his pa “Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it” (Chp. 12 Pg, 49). I strongly disagree with the fact that people want to ‘update and improve’ the classic “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because it uses a term that is found offensive frequently in todays generation. My problem with this posse that wants to change the wording of the book is that, their biggest concern to why they want to change the word “nigger” to “slave” is that they’re doing for the children, trying to make it more comfortable for them to read and protecting the youth from frowned upon terms. If this is their concern then why are they singling out books and classics from decades ago, why not focus on the books being published now with the terms “whore” “slut” or “trailer trash” in it? To me those are equally offensive terms. John Foley once said that he thinks “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee’s classic about racial inequality in the Deep South, and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”(Source A) should be removed from the curriculum for similar reasons” all because they show the reader the time gap between the setting of the writing and the present of today even though in the beginning of all books they tell you what time frame the story is held in “SCENE: The Mississippi Valley; TIME: Forty to Fifty Years Ago” (Page 0).…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To teach or not to teach? This is the question that is presently on many administrators' minds about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. For those who read the book without grasping the important concepts that Mark Twain gets across "in between the lines", many problems arise. A reader may come away with the impression that the novel is simply a negative view of the African-American race. Many scholars and educators, like Marylee Hengsetbeck who said, "If Huck Finn is used solely as a part of a unit on slavery or racism, we sell the book short." feel that there is much to be learned about Blacks from this book and it should not be banned from the classroom. This is only one of many themes and expressions that Mark Twain is describing in his work. Another central theme is how the depiction of race relations and slavery is used as insight into the nature of blacks and whites as people in general. Overall, the most important thing to understand is that Mark Twain is illustrating his valuable ideas subtly and not pushing them upon the reader directly.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Censorship in Huck Finn

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Mark Twain 's classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been criticized since the day it was released. A library in Concord MA banned the book only a month after it was put into print and other libraries and schools have followed suit (Mark Twain 's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not the only story to be widely banned, but it is one of the most controversial and well known. Many people claim that the novel is racist due to the frequent use of racial slurs and the disrespect and mistreatment of the character Jim who is a runaway slave. Mark Twain 's famous novel is not a racist text because it is a historical account of the south during the 1840s, when racism was commonplace. The book 's purpose was to emphasize real life and mock the faults in human nature.…

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a novel written in 1884 by Mark Twain at the end of the American reconstruction era. During this time there blacks were still treated unequally, and a large amount of ignorance between the races was present. As a child Mark Twain often witnessed the harsh cruelty slaves had to endure and as he grew older began to empathize with them, and through those emotions he created this novel. He created a book from the view point of a young boy who was considered white trash at the time and kept true to the accents and phrases the different races used at the time. This included the word nigger which although today is considered extremely inappropriate, in the past it was a common term used by whites to label blacks. Using satire to show how absurd racism and prejudice was. Over a hundred years later this novel is still considered a classic, however, a controversy has arisen over the harsh language often used in the novel.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been argued over for years about why it should be banned from being taught in schools since it uses the terms “nigger” and “injun”, both of which are looked down on in today's society for regular use. The reality behind the use of these is that they are put in to satirize that culture.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is it reasonable to deny someone of understanding and enlightenment just because you’re afraid of what they might see? In 1884 Mark Twain published what would become one of the most controversial books in history, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A novel that began to raise questions on whether or not it should be taught in school because of its discussion of slavery, racism, and use of the n-word. Though it seems that those who want to sanitize or not allow the book to be read at all are missing the true message of it. Huck Finn enlightens us on what slavery and racism was like from a new perspective, it shows moral conflict, and it makes you uncomfortable.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Mark Twain's renowned novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you seem to be teleported back in time. Twain’s strong diction and vivid descriptions make it feel as though it is really the 1940’s in Hannibal, Missouri. Huck is the troublesome boy of the town and lacks parental guidance, because of the unluckiness of having a drunk as a father. Miss Watson, the town widow, takes Huck in as her own child and attempts to civilize him. While living with Miss Watson, Huck befriends one of her slaves who goes by the name of Jim. It quickly becomes apparent that Jim has a special place in his heart for Huck, and that Huck looks up to and respects Jim. Through Jim’s pure heart and fatherly role to Huck, Twain proves the insignificant need to judge a person based on their skin color, overall proving the ignorance in racism.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A trashy and racist book wouldn't be allowed in classrooms. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is receiving negative attention. The dominant problem that students, parents, teachers, and even professors, face , is the usage of the n-word. After reading this adventurous story, it is hard to find the problem that is upsetting many people. Therefore, this incredible novel should continue to be in the high school curriculum because it offers students a realistic historical background, it receives numerous positive reactions, and the meaning of the word nigger, (referred to as the n-word) is changing over time.…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    is the well known Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Ever since the book was first published, people…

    • 749 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is considered a literary `classic. It has been a recommended read on many schools reading list for many years. But the book does have its share of controversy concerning the content within the book. Censorship is a thing many people do not like and some do not want this book censored and believe that the book should be taught in American classrooms. Others do not believe that and seek to have the book banned from being taught in schools. Huckleberry Finn is not a bad book but the negative aspects of the book may make the book unsuitable to teach. Huckleberry Finn should not be taught in school because it contains racism and offensive characterizations but it teaches that a persons identity is not solely based on their race.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the word “nigger” is used a great amount of times. This word has a purpose and the argument over if it should be removed or not continues to occur. If the word was to be removed, Huck Finn would no longer be Huck Finn anymore. In a video discussing the n word, David Bradley states, “But to tamper with the author’s words because of the sensibilities of present-day readers is unacceptable. The minute you do this, the minute this stops being the book that Twain wrote” (Bradley).…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many critics believe that Huckleberry Finn should not be taught in school because of the racism, language, and the influence the book has on the younger audience. According to John H. Wallace: The Case against Huck Finn, “is the most grotesque example of racist trash written and is not good for our children” (Wallace 309). While others believe Huckleberry Finn should be taught in school and that it portrays a time in history of racism and speaks volumes of a friendship forged when the country was at odds. Huckleberry Finn is just that a part of American History and American Literature. Huckleberry Finn is one of the very first works of American Literature. Huckleberry Finn represents the effects…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 943 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a very controversial book due to its racial slurs and other demonstrations of harmful race relationships. I strongly believe the book should not be banned in schools for three main reasons. The three reasons that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned are: (1) banning books is a violation of Americans’ constitutional First Amendment right to freedom of speech; (2) the book teaches to value humanity over race; and (3) implications for other courses such as history and political science are harmful.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays