The connotation of the term n***** has evolved over the past centuries, but it will always be associated with its hateful past, “even a cursory glance at the historical record will show that Twain’s use of the reprehensible word was an accurate reflection of that era” (Pitts 1). The history of the word n***** is dark and hurtful towards African Americans; that term represents the thousand of years of oppression and discrimination their ancestors had faced. Every time the word is spoken, it carries an ample amount of weight towards a person of color. Flashbacks of the stories they have heard through their grandparents causes African-American readers to develop a distaste for the novel because the word is commonly used. However, it is told from the innocent perspective of Huck, who had not been taught any better to not utter that word. Other times, people of the South that knew that the word n***** could be served a weapon, used it against others to indicate their hate towards people of color, “do you reckon a n*gger can run across money and not borrow some of it?” (Twain 198). The Duke was implying how all black men are thieves and spoke it in a disdain tone towards Jim. The term could be used to demonstrate how a person of color is reprehensible compared to a white person, and that was commonly done by people during the 1800s. Twain was depicting how
The connotation of the term n***** has evolved over the past centuries, but it will always be associated with its hateful past, “even a cursory glance at the historical record will show that Twain’s use of the reprehensible word was an accurate reflection of that era” (Pitts 1). The history of the word n***** is dark and hurtful towards African Americans; that term represents the thousand of years of oppression and discrimination their ancestors had faced. Every time the word is spoken, it carries an ample amount of weight towards a person of color. Flashbacks of the stories they have heard through their grandparents causes African-American readers to develop a distaste for the novel because the word is commonly used. However, it is told from the innocent perspective of Huck, who had not been taught any better to not utter that word. Other times, people of the South that knew that the word n***** could be served a weapon, used it against others to indicate their hate towards people of color, “do you reckon a n*gger can run across money and not borrow some of it?” (Twain 198). The Duke was implying how all black men are thieves and spoke it in a disdain tone towards Jim. The term could be used to demonstrate how a person of color is reprehensible compared to a white person, and that was commonly done by people during the 1800s. Twain was depicting how