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Literary analysis of the adventures of huckleberry finn
Huckleberry finn as a social satire
Huckleberry Finn as a social novel
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Introduction
When a book uses the "N-word" 213 times (Carey-Webb 24) and portrays the African American characters as inferior to their white counterparts, it becomes easy to assume that the book’s author Mark Twain is using this novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as a form of racist propaganda to display upon America in the late 19th century post-Civil War Era. By the late 19th century slavery had finally ended across the United States, but racial tension, discord and discrimination were still very much at large. For those opposed to slavery in its original iteration, and, therefore, opposed to its continuation in this form, the only thing left to do was to continue fighting the battle for equality and rights in any way they knew how.
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The way Jim acts tends to depict blacks in a negative light, based on his language throughout the novel, that makes the African American character sound ignorant. Fishkin debunks this argument by saying “Jim’s speech represented Twain’s ‘pains-taking’ efforts to accurately record, to the best of his ability, “Missouri Negro Dialect.”...His use of eye dialect (like ‘wuz’) is minimal. His primary concern is communicating Jim’s very pain.” (Fishkin …show more content…
The largest debate as to why the novel is a racist work is because of the use of the "N-word." Although there is an abundance of evidence pointing towards the theory that Mark Twain was a racist, therefore making the book itself a reflection of his ideologies, Huckleberry Finn is created as a form of social commentary, on the racism of the time period. As reflected in the essays in Satire or Evasion?, the perspectives on the views of racism in Huckleberry Finn vary widely (Arac 113) and it can be concluded that “there is no single ‘black’ position on Huckleberry Finn any more than there is a monolithic white one” (Leonard
The Adventures of Huck Finn is a very controversial book which brings much debate on whether it should be taught to children in America. The main reason for this debate is because the offensive word ‘nigger’ is used commonly throughout. The book is a classic and is seen to some people as such a great book that we should overlook the offensive word to understand the real lessons Mark Twain wanted to get across. One solution to this ongoing debate is something called the New South Edition, which substitutes ‘nigger’ for a ‘slave’ a word that is less personal and describes the history of America. Dr. Alan Gribben writes about the controversy and how the change effects the new edition. He uses personal anecdote, emotional appeal, historical references.
In the novel Huck Finn, the author repeatedly uses satire to ridicule the insanity of racial ignorance and inequity of the time period. With his masterful use of role reversal, irony, and the obvious portrayal of double standards, Twain exemplifies the injustices of different races contrasting them with example after example of counter-argument shown through the friendship and adventures of Jim and Huck together.
Mark Twain published what scholars still consider one of the greatest American literary works in 1885, and in that same year it suffered its first banning (Zwick). “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul,” Victor Doyno states on the jacket of Random House’s comprehensive edition of the novel. If Huckleberry Finn is so indispensable, then its having been opposed from the beginning of its life seems more than a little surprising. At first, the strife was caused by many objecting to the friendship between Huckleberry Finn, the white protagonist, and Jim, an escaped African American slave, in addition to the grammar upon which many critics of the time frowned. As our society experiences changes in priorities, taboos, and social trends, the points of concern shift, and no longer do critics grimace at an interracial friendship; instead, they attack the racism supposedly present (Chadwick).
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.
While on one hand Jim is depicted as a superstitious and ignorant slave who believes “witches bewitched him and put him in a trance” when he can’t find his hat, there are other moments when the reader realizes that Jim is in actuality wiser than Huck. Critics of Twain’s work argue that Jim, the novel’s primary example of a slave, is often portrayed as childlike and naive. One such critic, Julius Lester, addresses this in his critique “Morality and Adventure of Huckleberry Finn.” By portraying Jim in an inferior manner, Lester finds the portrayal of Jim as subservient and gullible quite offensive. Lester believes Twain’s depicts, Jim the “black hero” as “only type of black that whites have ever truly liked—faithful, tending sick whites, not speaking, not causing trouble, and totally passive.” A black hero is an obedient slave. Lester further accuses Twain of writing a racist composition. By drawing similarities between the confinement of Huck by his drunkard father to enslavement, Lester believes Twain has diminished the horrors of slavery. Author Henry Nash Smith in his essay “A Sound heart and a deformed Conscience” rightfully refutes these arguments. Smith sees Jim as a man of silent dignity who shows loyalty to his friends and family, exemplifies humanity, and stands up for himself. When Huck plays a prank on Jim by convincing him that that the separation in the fog was a dream, Jim’s dignified rebuke shows the slave in his true light. Although it took a few minutes for Huck to “humble himself to a nigger,” Huck apologizes to Jim, which validates the respect that Jim so rightly deserves. Smith states “Huck’s humble apology is striking evidence of growth
Ultimately developing a true sense of a white man’s perspective towards blacks. In this novel, racism affects the characters immensely and the view of Negroes is evident as Jim saysz “When they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote again…I says to the people, why ain’t this nigger put up at auction and sold?” (Twain 1300). This illustrates the attitude toward negroes with a complete disregard of their rights as humans. Consequently, Huck's attitude towards Jim at the beginning of the novel might be viewed as racist. He views Jim as less than a man, uneducated, without ideal viewpoints, and basically a piece of property. This quote describes the lack of respect and rights given to African Americans and their scarcity of representation in governmental offices or justices. Additionally, the reader begins to understand this lack of freedom as Jim, being a black runaway slave “said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom.”(Twain 1342). The reader is able to see the true view of white privilege and the actions and emotions of minorities upon having independence. Jim, Huck’s hideaway slave, was not running away for fun but rather from oppression and enslavement. This emotional response by Jim in
...n could have avoided using it, except without its use it would have been difficult for Twain to illustrate Jim as the opposite of the negative person he had been labeled as. Given the structure of Twain’s approach, it is not surprising that many critiques and readers pin the book to be racist. Those who do are clearly misunderstanding or simply ignoring the novel’s antipathy of racism. Again, with Jim’s proof of intelligence and morality, he strives to gain distance from those dark people he is surrounded by. Overall, Twains focus on Jim to be a positive, moral, and equal person who brings good influences on Huck accomplishes his meaning to place racism behind the curtains. For any person whom reads Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn and derives from this story nothing but racism and a negative story, has committed the worst crime in American Literature history.
I believe that “Huck Finn” teaches a reader two important lessons about the true nature of people. Throughout the book, one of these main lessons is that Blacks can be just as caring as whites. The white characters often view the blacks as property rather than as individuals with feelings and aspirations of their own. Huck comes to realize that Jim is much more than a simple slave when he discusses a painful experience with his daughter. Jim describes how he once called her and she did not respond. He then takes this as a sign of disobedience and beats her for it. Soon realizing that she is indeed deaf, he comforts her and tries to make up for the act of beating. The feeling that Jim displays shows Huck that Jim has a very human reaction and the fact Jim says, "Oh Huck, I bust out crying....'Oh the po' little thing!" (Twain 151), only further proves to Huck that Jim is as caring as he is. Huck's realization allows him to see that Jim is no longer the ordinary slave.
The book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is an arguably controversial novel. It explores the idea of racism and slavery (among other topics) through a young white boy during slavery in the far south. Throughout the novel, Huckleberry Finn struggles with the idea of slavery and differing moral codes than what he was raised with. He flip-flops between the typical expected thought process of slavery to a new radical, almost abolitionist, viewpoint. Twain uses anti-slavery satire to show how slavery is wrong, the current social attitudes and Huck’s search for morals to demonstrate the need to question social views at the time.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the noblest, greatest, and most adventuresome novel in the world. Mark Twain definitely has a style of his own that depicts a realism in the novel about the society back in antebellum America. Mark Twain definitely characterizes the protagonist, the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn, by the direct candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck. Every word, thought, and speech by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel, though inspiring some. Says John H. Wallace, outraged by Twain’s constant use of the degrading and white supremacist word ‘nigger’, "[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is] the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written" (Mark Twain Journal by Thadious Davis, Fall 1984 and Spring 1985). Yet, again to counter that is a quote by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…it’s the best book we’ve had…There has been nothing as good since" (The Green Hills of Africa [Scribner’s. 1953] 22). The controversy behind the novel has been and will always remain the crux of any readers is still truly racism. Twain surely does use the word ‘nigger’ often, both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority. However, the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism, this malicious treatment of African-Americans, this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre-Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portrayal of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era. Twain’s literary style in capturing the novel, Huck’s casual attitude and candid position, and Jim’s undoubted acceptance of the oppression by the names all signifies this.
Huckleberry Finn is an entertaining story, but its frequent use of a taboo word is a stain on the novel’s history. The use of the “N-word” in Huckleberry Finn has been hotly contested. Many schools have banned the book for its use of the slur. The slur is used many times throughout the book, in a heartbreakingly casual manner. Huckleberry Finn’s continual use of the N-word is shocking, offensive, and outdated. This is authentic to the time period, but upsetting to the modern person. But I believe that Twain’s use of the N-word is necessary to the story.
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.
Mark Twain is a well-known novelist; his novels contain a wide range of written expressions varying from humor, comprehensive details, and likeable characters. Several of Twain’s written literatures are considered classics, which include, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain’s notorious novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has been and continues to be a very controversial topic due to his graphic descriptions of racism. Although the “n” word was commonly used to describe African Americans in the 1880’s, the word is currently considered offensive. Many critics think that this book is racist because Twain openly states the “n” word throughout the novel, but this is only one form of racism found within the pages of the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Twain’s choice of language allows the reader to travel back in time to the 1800’s and discover how inhumane the racist society was towards the African American community. As discussed over a National public talk radio between Neal Conan and Alan Gribben, an english professor at Auburn University, “Many scholars and teachers view Twain’s language as an integral part of the story(SourceD).” The word Twain repeats throughout Huck Finn, illustrates America’s past attitude towards African Americans. When we dispose of the uncomfortable diction through censoring, we are masking the truth of our own history revealed through Twain’s expressions. We must explore our heritage and comprehend why the word has such a negative connotation to this day. Because Twain’s choice of delivery is satire, he is making fun of the crude behavior of racists during the post civil war time era. He wants the reader to feel nervous and uncomfortable while revealing how harsh the society of the 1800’s, showing the sensitive language that was permitted at that time. Mark Twain himself wrote that “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter(SourceC).” Though I concede that the slang used is abhorrent and understand why it would be so offensive, especially towards a specific group of persons, I still insist tha...
In today 's culture, we are still dealing with the racism. Racism is carried over in the books read in schools. In Mark Twain 's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the people throughout the novel are dealing with racism against black Americans in the rural south. The novel by Twain was dealing with racism in the late 1870’s and early 1880’s. Mark Twain had to be a little bit of a racist when he wrote this book because of how harshly he writes about black people in the book; and how well he writes about the beliefs of the racist people in the book. Twain’s novel is important to keep in schools because it teaches kids how our nation was just after the 13th amendment was passed. The 13th amendment abolishes slavery in the United States.