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Freedom of expression and censorship
Freedom of expression and censorship
Freedom of expression and censorship
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is an American classic taught within the nation present all throughout the educational system. The book was published in 1884, still around the time where American society had segregated against African Americans and treated them less than human. In the era when The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published, it had been unpopular in the south for revealing African Americans as human and how slavery was inhumane. The n-word is highly frowned upon by today’s society because of its racial term toward African Americans. Now variety schools have decided to get rid of the novel due to the n-word offending African Americans and replace Mark Twain’s novel with another. While both arguments …show more content…
The main objective why all schools that ban the novel is because of t containing racial slurs and strong content. The novel of Huckleberry Finn does have “repetition of the word “nigger.” (PBS). The quote given demonstrated how many schools do not like to see or have to read out loud to their students. The n-word is a word that society does not like feel comfortable saying or having been said out loud. The word itself has a crucial history to it as well as it plays out as a huge part of American history. The only reason why the book “should be” banned from schools is that of the use of the n-word. The book utilizes the n-word so loosely that the book itself sounds racist. The novel itself promotes racism that should not be allowed to be read aloud in classes or at school. The book itself also goes against “community value” (PBS). If a book goes against a communities belief then they should have the right to ban the novel. However, keeping the book in schools is the best options for …show more content…
The book itself is a great piece of American history. Now the book takes place in pre-civil war America. The book itself reflects how Americans treated and acted towards African Americans in this time era. Since it shows a mirror to a racist society many views the book as racist itself. However in an appeal to keep the Huckleberry Finn still on the reading list, the author talks about how modern groups believe that the novel was racist but the author continues to talk about how the Mark Twain “oppose to racial segregation” (Appeal). Why would an author who is opposed to racism create a racist novel? That just does not make any sense at all. Therefore, the view that Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel is false and the argument to keep the book out of schools because it is racist is no longer valid. Instead, Mark Twain tries to teach us about or show us the people of that time era of how they treated African Americans like subhuman without a
The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published in December of 1884. It was first banned in Concord, Massachusetts from the Concord Public Library in March of 1885. Since it was first published, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been opposed and banned. The book is powerful and provides an amazing window into what this country was like in the time period it takes place in, banning this book is not an ethical thing to do because readers learn and grow from it and people should know how the United States was in that time period so that we do not regress and move backwards as a society.
The lessons Mark Twain teaches throughout his book are vital for every High School student to experience. One of the major points for arguing that The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn should be banned is the repetitive and overuse of the N word. On a surface level, the way the N word is used could seem very disrespectful however as one dives deeper into analysis, Twain seemingly uses the N word loosely to portray a message. Throughout the book, Jim is always looked upon with a negative attitude and being just a typical black person because of these traits. However, as Huck and Jim venture along the Mississippi river, Huck begins to act more and more like Jim is an actual person. A prime example of this is when Huck says “they’re comin for us” (Twain 63) rather than saying they’re coming for you. Huck sees him and Jim as a relationship rather than just him and a slave. Another example is when Huck says, “It was 15 minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n----” (89). Huck’s apology shows how Huck’s mindet towards not only Jim but all black people has changed, and that he actually has feelings for them now. The overall lesson tha...
How many years have passed since public discrimination against blacks ended? How many times have you personally heard someone make fun of someone because they are black within the past five years? How many times have you heard the “N” word being used as not an insult, but as a nickname for a friend? The truth is: In 2016, the “petrifying” “N” word has become less of an insult, and more of a simple nickname that many teens and young adults use for each other. The simple connotation of the word has been modified throughout the years from being something that was used as hurtful slander of the black population, to a petty pet name. For this simple reason alone, all of the arguments about Huckleberry Finn being “Racist Trash” and not about anti-racism are erroneous. I believe that Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn eloquently conveys an anti-racism message to it’s readers by simple means of satire, hyperbole,
Abby Gross Mr. Bruneel AP Lang- Period 7 10 April 2014 Exploring Censorship of Twain’s Great American Novel: A Literary Critique To delve into a topic as serious as book censorship, one must first determine the purpose of reading, of literature in general. Blahblahblah (what Ms Buckingham said).
Paula Lieder is a high school English teacher, and in her classroom while teaching this novel, she leads the class in discussions about racism and slavery. Lieder says that when reading this book “the discussion of race and prejudice must occur.” Her class also discusses the controversy of the book and the use of the word “nigger” (Lieder). When reading this novel students may ask themselves questions about the use of the word “nigger” and how it affects the book like Holbrook did. It’s obvious that Mark Twain was a good writer, and he knew what he was writing. So why would he use the word “nigger” repeatedly? (“Huckleberry Finn”) Holbrook would say it’s because Twain wants the reader to feel disgusted and upset. In order for Twain to get his readers to understand the hurtful nature of this word, he hit them with it over and over (“Huckleberry Finn”). Huckleberry Finn also stirs students’ imaginations while presenting information about human nature. Leo Marx says in Sharon Rush’s article,
First off, I would like to ask you if you think Huckleberry Finn should be banned from society? With that question in mind I would like to tell you why it should not. The Novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, according to an offended citizen, that the novel "should be removed from schools curriculum and expunged from public library shelves." This novel is already banned from all black schools and Christian schools for the profusely use of the "N" word and the insults of religion by Mark Twain. The "N" was used over 200 times throughout the course of the novel. Also, the actions of Huck and other negative characters in the novel does not help plead my case on why I disagree with this citizen. I disagree with this citizen and I think it should be allowed in schools curriculum and in libraries because it is a classic American novel and it shows how America has evolved as a nation. Huck Finn lies profusely in the novel, depicts African Americans negatively or using the "N" word, and his attitude is a negative influence on children today.
The decision to ban the novel Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries has been an ongoing controversy. The presence of the 'n word' and the treatment towards Jim, and other blacks in general, has made many readers uncomfortable. Despite this fact, Huckleberry Finn has been and remains a classic read. I do not believe the novel should be banned or sanitized because it is a part of American history whether it is good or bad, also we have no right to change someone's writing simply because we do not like how it is written, Mark Twain's writing should not be penalized because of the ideals of today.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain, published in 1884, and according to Alison Flood in the article US school stops teaching Huckleberry Finn because of 'use of the N-word', “one of the most-challenged [novels] of all time.” The story depicts the relationship between a young white boy who is running away from home and a grown slave who is running away to escape slavery. The novel focuses on Huck Finn growing up pre-civil war in deep and very racist south. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stop being taught to high schoolers because it is too open to interpretation, and doesn't
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is very important to the American culture. When Mark Twain was around, the use of the word “nigger” was quite common. That was how they referred to African Americans in that time. In the book, Twain makes Pap look like the worst possible white trash where as Huck and Jim, the slave, get closer throughout the book. The book shows how people felt towards African Americans back in the day and how it was wrong. They considered them as “inhuman.” In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Aunt Sally seems to be a nice person, but when the little black boy was killed she does not care since “no human was hurt.” This shows how far along we have come since this time period. Huck plays three jokes on Jim, but in the end begs for his forgiveness because he felt he had done something indeed quite wrong. This shows that not all Southerners in the day were “racist.” Mark Twain makes fun of how many people in the South were wrong to think badly towards the African Americans. This book is a very good book to get an understanding of how things were wrong back then and how far we have come since then.
When taking a look at Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, racism is a large theme that seems to be reoccurring. What some may think to be racism in Twain's words, can also be explained as, good story telling appropriate to the era the story takes place in. Twain himself has been suggested as a racist based on the fact that he uses the word "nigger" in his book. However, Twain was an avid abolitionist. For those who claim that Twain was a racist, they must have only been looking out for themselves and not those who are willing to learn about the past, whether it be ugly or perfect.
The classic American novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain has been a source of controversy since it was published. The controversy is centered around Twain’s use of the N word. It is a very heinous, powerful word that is almost always offensive. Mark Twain is well known as a satirist, in laymen's terms he makes light of social issues through his use of language. The story takes place in pre-civil war America so in order to effectively show the racism of the decade he had to use their vernacular. He did not intend to offend. He actually meant to make you feel uncomfortable with the racism. Huck Finn should not be censored because literary decisions should be left to the authors to make (5 Kathleen Parker), we need examples of ignorance to provide contrast to how far we have come, and because The powerful language Twain uses is necessary for the story and the story would be worse off for it.
Huck Finn does not promote racism. All racist comments are merely historically realistic or are to be taken with a satirical manner. Twain uses the novel to morally fight racism. More volumes of Twain's Autobiography will be published in coming years according to his will (Auto). His true feelings may then be fully understood. Until then Huck Finn will be the subject of debate. However, no amount of debate could upset the novel's position as one of the most definite works in American history (Fishkin, 1993).
As for some, the novel of Mark Twain, known as Huckleberry Finn, is subjecting high school students to a literature they are not mature enough to handle. These individuals who share in this idea encourage the novel to be introduced to students after their college enrolment. This is simply because they are not comfortable exposing the word, “nigger” in such a manner that it can be viewed as harmful to African Americans. My stance on this subject is very in favor of exposing the novel to high school students for many reasons. I find that many people look at the word “nigger” in only one viewing, and need to broaden their views of this word. The maturity of high school students is almost the same as those in college. However, many college students
...e end of the novel, Huck and the reader have come to understand that Jim is not someone’s property or an inferior man, but an equal. To say that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel is absurd, but there are always some hot-heads claiming that the novel is racist. These claims are not simply attempts to damage the image of a great novel, they come from people who are hurt by racism and don’t like seeing it in any context. However, they must realize that this novel and its author are not racist, and the purpose of the story is to prove black equality. It is vital for the reader to recognize these ideas as society’s and to recognize that Twain throughout the novel does encourage racist ideas, he disputes them. For this reason, and its profound moral implication, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be removed from the literary canon. [1056]
This book has been banned from school libraries all over the country because of the main character's teenage angst, which many feel is too graphic for teenagers, and its profanity. Profanity, whether it be frequent or a rare occurrence, is a characteristic of many literary classics, as is the use of racial epithets.In the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (ranking number 2 on the list), an epithet is use many times over to describe the people of color in the book. Now since the book was published in 1885 and such language was common at the time, I do not belie...