Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be the greatest American novel ever written. Despite this praise, Mark Twain’s masterpiece has never been without criticism. Upon its inception it was blasted for being indecent literature for young readers because of its lack of morals and contempt for conformity. Modern indignation toward Huck Finn arises from its racist undertones, most notably Twain’s treatment of the character Jim. As is the case with many canonized yet controversial books, the biggest conflict revolves around the inclusion of Huck Finn on required reading lists of public schools throughout the country.
In general, the mostly African-American critics consider Twain himself to be racist and Huck Finn simply reflects this. Blacks, especially Jim, are portrayed as fools and used as comedic fodder to bolster feelings of white superiority in Twain’s southern audience. Although Jim’s positive qualities are presented in certain parts of the novel, they are overshadowed by his superstitious folly which Twain returns to in the later chapters. The fact that Huck’s narration is intentionally skewed by the innocence and ignorance of an adolescent is little consolation to critics who feel that Twain has committed gross immorality. Also, the incessant use of the epithet “nigger” has been deemed excessive. Despite these condemnations though even the staunchest opponents of Twain find certain redeeming qualities that make it hard to promote all out censorship.
One of the most stringent dissenters of Huck Finn is Julius Lester, Newberry Award winning author of the children’s book To Be a Slave. Lester argues that one of the primary concerns of lit...
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...hite man. This pseudo-parenthood relieves Huck of any lifelong responsibilities to Jim and also allows Twain to eventually separate the two without any emotional repercussions. In short, they lack a true familial bond implicating a tragedy of sadness at the core of their relationship which is possibly due to Huck’s insatiable racism.
Ultimately, both Henry and Morrison approve the teaching of Huck Finn under the conditions of mature students and cautious, open-minded teachers. The problems in Twain’s novel may never be fully explained but an honest and careful consideration of the issues in Huck Finn should contribute positively to the growing awareness of American race relations.
Work Cited
Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994.
Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is said to be one of the greatest American novels to ever be written and is what all other pieces of American literature are based off of. The novel has been debated for over an entire century and will continue to be debated for much longer. Never the less, Huckleberry Finn teaches young students and adults the important life lessons. ”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain should remain required reading in American Literature classes because it enlightens students about the horrors of racism and slavery, familiarizes students with the South during time period, and properly portrays the powers of conformity.
All across the United States, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is known as a great American classic. Although it has been perceived to many controversial, there are many valid arguments as to why it is the quintessential American novel. The themes Huck Finn portrays obvious themes that play a key role in America; especially in the time it was published such as racism, slavery, and a child running away from home to help out someone who was seen as below him. Along with the controversial elements in the paper, the novel’s characters also had individual voices that made them all stand out in a way that made it more interesting to read. The theme of perseverance is apparent as Jim and Huck Finn are separated on multiple occasions.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: a great lesson in American History or a novel that is too controversial for young readers? Throughout history there have been times when certain groups, organizations, and people have challenged books due to material presented in these books that conflict with their beliefs or values. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, was first published in 1885, since that time it has been one of the most challenged and banned books in America (CENSORSHIP). At the heart of this challenge is whether to allow books such as Huckleberry Finn part of schools and their curriculum. The debate on whether to allow Huckleberry Finn into school curriculum comes from the strong language and social issues present in this book (Powell). While there are some who argue that censorship of Huckleberry Finn in schools is necessary to protect students, others argue that Huckleberry Finn marks an important part of American History and issues that were present at that time.
Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves. However one must ask if Twain is encouraging traditional southern racism or is Twain disputing these idea.
Unfortunately, the battle between the races still rages on today in America, because African Americans are still struggling for equality in various walks of life. Although, more than a 120 years have passed since the first publication of Huck Finn, the novel’s enduring relevance in American society is obvious because the racial prejudices demonstrated by the characters still plague Americans today.
Budziszewski’s explanation of Aquinas begins in Unit II and is “probably the chapter most sought after by those who are interested in Aquinas’s” (Rodriguez) view on natural law. To understand the differences between Aquinas and Aristotle one must first have a brief understanding of Aristotle’s view on natural law.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has declared obesity a disease. Obesity means that an individual has too much body weight that could possibly cause a health risk. Having a body-mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher makes an individual morbidly obese. A healthy BMI would be from 20 to 24.9. The United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world with an estimated of 36% of American adults suffering from it. It is important to not label obesity as a disease because it leads 78 million adults and 12 million children in America into feeling helpless, and takes them away from believing it’s importance as a condition that is the result of eating too much and living sedentary lifestyles.
According to Henry Jenkins, an American Media Scholar and professor at MIT, “young people in general are more likely to be gamers —90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play.” That is an overwhelming amount of young people. In recent years, there have been incidents such as the Columbine school shooting which have shown young people committing terrible acts of violence. In the case of the Columbine shooting, the teenagers who committed the shooting were both found to be avid players of a violent computer video game known as Doom (Ferguson, 26). This has raised lawmakers and concerned parents to begin opposing violence in video games. These people believe that video games (and violent video games in particular) can cause young people to become extremely desensitized to violence, and in turn cause them to commit acts of violence that they would not have committed otherwise. However, these people fail to realize that our youths have been exposed to violence far longer than modern media has been around. For example, Wired.com writer Michael Venables points out that many of our classic fairy tales deal with violent conditions. He reminds people that “Cinderella’s evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by doves.” and “Hansel and Gretel kill their captor by baking her in an oven.” People who oppose video games pose a major threat to the development of youth in our modern society, because video games can have many positive effects on young people.
The overall basis for a democratic society is freedom. We stress that freedom allows us to be individualistic. Herbert L. Packer, a law professor, charted out two ideas in our criminal justice system. The idea or crime control and due process are ideally two separate entities, but have been found in our criminal justice system to overlap (Barkan, 2012). Due to the fact that these two ideas overlap, causes tension within our democratic society. These ideas cause there to be a double edge sword. As stated in our textbook, “the more crime control we want, the less due process we have; the more due process we have, the less crime control we can expect.” (Barkan, 2012). Ideally, we would like to live in a society where everyone is treated equally regardless of race, gender, social class, etc. However, police have the difficult task of making sure arrests are made unbiased.
Proponents of classifying obesity as a disease claim that it fits the definition of a disease. The American Heritage Dictionary defines disease as “a pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmen...
Over the 129 years for which the book has been in print, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been regarded with much controversy, for many different reasons. As it has progressed, the subject of this controversy has been almost constantly changing. This essay will explore some of the claims and explanations of the controversy, as well as a discussion on whether the book is even that controversial. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion about this novel, The main complaints seem to revolve around three core topics: Twain’s portrayal of Jim and other blacks, The extensive use of the racial slurs and racism, and the final chapters of the book itself.
As a health care professional it is our position statement that obesity should be considered as a disease. Overweight and obese adults are considered at risk for developing diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and certain type of cancers. An average of 300,000 deaths is associated with obesity and the total economic cost of obesity in U.S. was about $ 117 billion in 2000. As health care professionals it is our responsibility to increase public awareness of health consequences of over weight and obesity. Obesity as a disease: Obesity fits all the definitions of ‘disease’, that is, interruption in bodily function.
Aviation has come a long way since the 19th century, from the Wright brothers taking flight with the first powered and controlled gliders, to aircraft that can travel up to supersonic speeds, orbiting satellites and space stations which then were only thought to be science-fiction. Aerospace and aviation has proven to be one of the biggest challenges to advance in the entirety of human existence. There are many factors and characteristics that contributed to this advancement such as the engines of aircraft, forces of flight, aerodynamic forces, wingspans etc. The two most significant aspects however have been; World War 1 and World War 2.
Freedom is what defines an individual, it bestows upon someone the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. Therefore, enslavement may be defined as anything that impedes one’s ability to express their freedoms. However, complete uncompromised freedom is virtually impossible to achieve within a society due to the contrasting views of people. Within Mark Twain’s 1885 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, numerous controversies are prevalent throughout the novel, primarily over the issue of racism and the general topic of enslavement. The characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn along with their development take an unmistakable, resilient stand against racism and by doing such in direct relation against the naturalized views of society. Twain’s characters, Jim and Huck are at the focal point of this controversy; they together are enslaved in two particularly different forms, nevertheless they both pursue their freedoms from their enslavements. The development of these characters and the growth of their interdependent relationship generate the structure of the anti-racism message within this novel. Twain’s introductory warning cautions the dangers of finding motives, morals, or plots in his novel, ironically proving the existence of each and encourages the reader to discover them. One of the undisputable major themes that extensively peculated my mind as I read the text regarded the subject of freedom and enslavement. Through Twain’s constant contrasting of freedom and enslavement such as its portrayal of slavery in the form of life on land compared to the freedom on the raft on the Mississippi Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, suggests that people are subject to various ensl...
Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time. Despite objections to the novel for offensive and insensitive portrayal of African Americans due to Twain’s negative and stereotypical “minstrel-like” characterization of Jim and the extensive use of the term “nigger,” throughout the novel, Twain exposes Jim’s unfeigned humanity behind a “minstrel-like” pretense by illustrating his capacity to possess profound human emotions and his triggering Huck’s moral transformation from a conscienceless, uncivilized juvenile into an adolescent able to make The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been the source of criticism on many occasions.