Censorship of Huckleberry Finn
As parents, it is important for you to know what information your child receives, especially in the learning environment of a classroom. The thought of your child reading a racially offensive book is unacceptable. Some people find Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn racially offensive. If you as parents perceive this book to be offensive, it may lead some of you to request that teachers and administrators not allow students to read this book in school. I ask that you consider other options before taking this action. The actual reasons for the censorship of Huckleberry Finn depend on many other factors: fear of uneducated or insensitive teachers leading student discussions, school administrators who wish to avoid controversy and discomfort with acknowledging our country's painful history.
What some people find offensive about this story is the language Huck Finn uses. In the story, Huck often refers to Jim as a "nigger," which some groups find unnecessary and reprehensible. In the minds of administrators and teachers, there is an easy solution by using less-controversial books. John Wallace, a school superintendent, writes, "Pejorative terms should not be granted any legitimacy by their use in the classroom under the guise of teaching books of great literary merit, nor for any other reason" (18). Why are we afraid of these "pejorative terms," instead of explaining to students what they mean and why white people used to use them to address African-Americans? Yet instead of finding out why we worry if the children read a derogative term used commonly over a century ago, we ignore the subject and pat ourselves on the backs for saving children's minds. Huckleberry Finn addresses topics dealing with race which are still relevant today. We cannot expect to solve the racial problems today by banning literature that deals directly with these issues. Twain writes about a friendship between a slave and a white youth; he demonstrates the lack of reason behind racist thought. These topics are not harmful to African-Americans, and if taught correctly, can be a positive learning experience.
Instead of addressing these issues, administrators often remove the controversial book from the class reading list and replace it with another book. Former Justice William Douglas is noted for his concern with First Amendment freedoms on the Supreme Court. He writes, "The First Amendment does not say that there is freedom of expression provided the talk is not 'dangerous'.
Roger and Me is the story of Michael Moore’s quest to right the wrong done to Flint, Michigan by Roger Smith, CEO of General Motors. GM factories closed down in Flint, resulting in unemployment for of thousands of workers. These laid off auto workers are products of generations of auto workers. GM has been a Flint way of life since the factories first opened. But, finding that operation and labor costs were substantially less in Mexico, Roger Smith filled for bankruptcy and closed the plants down. The consequences of this shut-down were devastating to Flint. The rat population exceeded that of humans, houses were abandoned, and families who couldn’t afford the rent were evicted. The citizens who remained in Flint were now residents of the city with the highest crime rate in all of America. These are just a few of the issues which spurred Michael Moore’s pursuit for the illusive Roger Smith.
The act of banning something is an aggressive measure. However, this being said whether to ban Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been debated. While some say that the book is offensive and disrespectful, others claim it to be a valuable learning lesson. Because of its beneficial lessons, its way of shocking the reader, its reputation as being one of the best novels in american history along with other controversial books being allowed in high schools, The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn should be read by every High School across the country.
Keating, and now by The Headmaster, Mr. Nolan. Nolan brings back reference to the introductory essay by “Dr. J. Evans Pritchard Ph. D”. When this passage is being read, a symbol of the banking concept returning to the classroom, the students who were members of the dead poets society stand up in rebellion of Mr. Nolan, and his oppression. This scene shows both education methods present throughout the film and described by Friere. Nolan makes an attempt to force the banking concept back on the students, and ignore the principals of the problem posing critically thinking students they have become “Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by the educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression” (Friere
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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.
One of the most enthralling central themes that exist in the Lion King are the concepts of the "Circle of Life." It is a concept that momentously emphasizes that everyone and everything attains an essential position in the world, that everyone and everything fulfill a major role in nature, and that everyone and that everything intricately fit into the great mosaic of life. It is through the vast assortment of the flora and fauna that is found in the pridelands, that Mufasa is able to explain this phenomenon to the young Simba. Informing Simba that life is a continuous cycle, built upon of the sociological trinity of: birth, death, and rebirth; he explains to Simba:
For many years schools have banned books from being taught to their students because of parent complaints. These books have been shunned from the criteria, which may or may not affect the student’s understanding on a specific subject. People have been fighting to have these books banned because of excessive use of profanity, violence, sex, drugs and many other reasons. They do not look further in the books to see exactly what the author is trying to portray. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is banned in various places in the United States. This book should not be banned because, this book shows an important part in our history, it is not pro-racism, and it shows how far along we have come since then.
In 1865 Mark Twain wrote what would become one of the most controversial books in American history, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” He wrote this novel with brazen confidence. This novel became a very difficult, controversial topic with many different views and opinions. The most common side taken for this topic is the side that: Yes, it is a racist book, but that was the norm for the time. Addressing people by the “N” word was socially acceptable, and usually was not even done in a hateful manner, because it was the vernacular of this time. Many people’s aversion to this book makes this topic and discussion so much more interesting and in today’s standards, it is definitely racist. No doubt. But how are we going to learn from our mistakes in the past if we aren’t being taught them in the first place. It allows the readers, or in this case students, to see what intolerance is and how things have changed from then to today. Many of the novels in this time period are now considered racist, but were once were completely normal. There are many arguments as to why this novel should be banned from public high schools, but for every argument there is a reason as to why it is false and should still be taught.Due to these facts, the novel Huckleberry Finn should be taught in public school systems without question.
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Michael Moore is trying to appeal to the audience by showing that he understands what it is like because he grew up in the time of the “middle class”. He grew up in the time where the rich were still rich but also were taxed at a rate of ninety-percent which is unheard of in the twentieth century.(Moore) Michael Moore grew up in a time where his dad worked at a factory on the assembly line, and that was enough for the Moore family.(Moore) The family was supported enough just by the father’s job, the mother didn’t have to work and the kids could go and get a great education without having student loans till they are 50 years old.(Moore) Michael Moore saw what capitalism could do for society, but he also saw the demise of capitalism. He tried to warn the big companies such as GM and other blue chip companies, that their actions were going to catch up to them but none of these industries wanted to listen to him because the rich were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer. Michael Moore effectively represents ethos because he grew up in this time, he saw his city fall apart right before his eyes. He saw the way capitalism was taking control of everything around him. He saw the capitalist society of the one percent take over and wreck thousands of lives. The director goes to an assembly line that was based in his hometown and interviews employees that were given a three-day notice that the company was closing it down. (Moore) Moore interviews the protesters as they fight for what they believe is right. The passion is shown through the workers and how losing their jobs has affected their lives just as his life was changed when his father was let go for the wrong reasons. The credibility of the source comes from the facts that these people present. This wasn’t just a film to them, but their
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