Banned: "The adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

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"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain was first published in the United States in 1885 as a sequel to the book "Tom Sawyer." The book, which uses Huck's or the first person point of view surrounds the events of two runaways: Huck Finn and a black slave by the name of Jim. Shortly after publication, the book became controversial because of Huck's casual use of the word "nigger." Due to Huck's careless grammar and the book's controversy, libraries began to ban the book from their shelves. The first library to ban the book from their shelves was the Free Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts (Greenhaven Press 12). The book was banned from the Free Public Library shortly after publication (Greenhaven Press 12). However, "More than a century later, some parents, educators, and public officials still say that students should not be required-or perhaps even allowed-to read the book" (Greenhaven Press 12). Adults fear that the uncivilized Huck Finn would be impressionable on young minds, and may cause them to use "faulty grammar, play hookey, steal, lie, and run away" (Greenhaven Press 12). Others fear "that the use of the word nigger in the book is offensive, racist, and harmful to black students" (Greenhaven Press 112) "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a thoroughly debated book that should not be banned because it has transformed American literature, depicts a realistic look of race relations, and is a classic book that is loved by Americans.

The first major reason that "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" should not be banned is because it has transformed American literature. Twain's use of dialect and first person narration from Huck's perspective is what has transformed American literature. Due to all of the...

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...time to aide his slave friend, Jim in escaping from slavery. The book not only depicts Huck's adventures, but it also provides readers with a view of American life in the Mississippi before the Civil War. The book obviously offers many indictments of corruption at all levels of society by Huck Finn learning human nature's evil side as well as its kinder side. Before placing judgments on what is considered to be a "masterpiece," perhaps society itself should confront their own individual conflicts about what is right and what is wrong.

Works Cited

Gerber, John. Mark Twain. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998.

The Greenhaven Press. Readings on Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

California: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 1998.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. London: The Macmillan Company

Collier-Macmillan Limited, 1962.

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