Huckleberry Finn Research Paper

Over the course of a decade,
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
has been widely read
throughout America by high school students. The controversy surrounding Huck Finn is
regarding the abundance of racial styling that is within the book. Supporters of the novel would
say that Twain was simply being a product of his time, revealing the harsh stereotypes of that
period, something that he believed must be looked at more closely. Opponents opinions would be
that the continuous racial insults void the book of any true substance. Despite being occasionally
depicted in negative ways, the numerous positive portrayals of African Americans make this
novel appropriate for high schools simply because it obligates high school students to analyze
and

understand how blacks overcame the racial stereotypes in Southern society.
To begin with,
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
educates the younger community about
the history of racism. Schools reasoning behind the banning of the book is because “its negative
impact on the community outweighed its literary benefits,” which is not true at all.

The
consistent use of the N-word does not degrade the education that is within the literature itself. If
anything, the racial slurs help enhance the point that Twain was trying to get across to readers,
which is the ignorance of people during that time. As many people seem to be getting confused,
the reasoning behind Twain writing this novel was not to teach people that harsh language
towards a race is acceptable, but to expose the immoral society in which he had to live amongst.
In addition, the novel generates the idea of true realism and crosses the barrier of racial
injustices that are continuously looked over. In school particularly, we are taught a condensed
version of what reality of racism was truly like, leaving out the harsher areas to spare
uncomfortable situations. However, as Katherine Timpf stated in her article, “We need to know
what the past was like in order to fully understand the present and knowing more about what the

past was like for African Americans in this country is only going to make people more
understanding of the current movement for racial justice.” Twain allowed an open window

of
educational consumption, giving his readers the real dirt on Southern societies racial views. His
work gives an aspect that many high schools students wouldn’t get without having the
opportunity of reading this novel.
Furthermore,
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
gives a lesson of morality that a human
being can obtain despite the ignorance of others around them. In the novel, Huck was brought up
in a racist community. Although he was constantly pressed to not willingly accept blacks, he
created a very close relationship with Jim, even risking himself to help Jim run away. Jim was
constantly being discriminated against in the novel; but Twain made him one of the most positive
characters, showing the skin colors does not determine one’s intentions. Being in a generation
now where racial injustice is still being observed, by using this novel in school curriculum
students can gain wisdom of moral standards regarding racial acceptance amongst their peers.
In summary, this novel should not be banned in schools because it offers organic educational
knowledge of racism and social acceptance. Twain’s intentions were not to promote racism but
prove black equality. Twain’s African American characters were intelligent and heroic, showing
that they were as socially acceptable as whites. Huckleberry Finn is believable and effective,
proving the fact that society existed the way it was depicted in the novel. Twain used the
language of his day, giving us a character, whose humanity, warmth and wisdom defied the
hateful associations of the word with truth and honor. That was Twain’s truth; he knew it and
anyone who reads the book, knowing where it comes from will know it as well.