Should Huck Finn Be Taught In Schools Essay

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.
Throughout history slavery has been taught from the same point of view an old, white man. Huck Finn gives the perspective of Huck, the protagonist who is conflicted between his moral principles, and what society tells him he
Huck, who isn’t quite sure of what he thinks is morally right and wrong yet. Huck Finn makes you uncomfortable and provides the basis for discussion; it makes you think. Without reading Huck Finn, people are missing out on a classic that makes your question decisions made then, and decisions being made now. People who try to ban Huck Finn are only trying to block out a part of history that they wish would be soon forgotten, but history should be dealt with, accepted, and discussed by everyone even at a young age. Trying to shield students from any important part of history is a crime within itself. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides an insight that everyone deserves to be enlightened of, and shouldn’t be deprived of because of the use of language that adds emphasis to the time period. If there wasn’t a problem of racism in our society, Huck Finn would be the easiest book to