racismhf Prejudice and Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huckleberry Finn Racism

Lately, there has been increasing discussion of the outward racist ideas expressed by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn. In some cases the novel has even been banned by public school systems and censored by public libraries. All this controversy caused by one character Jim, a black slave. Jim is a black slave who runs away from Miss Watson. At several points in the novel, Jim's character is described to the reader, and some people have looked upon the characterization as racist. However, before one begins to censor a novel it is important to separate the ideas of the author from the ideas' of his characters. It is also important not to take a novel at face value and to read between the lines in order to capture the underlying themes of a novel. If one were to do this in relation to Huckleberry Finn, one would, without doubt, realize that it is not racist and is even anti-slavery.

At first, Huckleberry Finn might appear to be racist. The first time the reader meets Jim he is given a very negative description of Jim. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childlike, not very bright and extremely superstitious. However, it is important not to lose sight of who is giving this description and of who it is being given. Although Huck is not a racist kid, he has been raised by racist people who have put some feelings of racism into his mind. It is also important to remember that this description, although it is quite sad, was probably accurate. Jim and the millions of other slaves in the South were not permitted any formal education, were never allowed any independent thoughts and were constantly mistreated and abused. Twain is merely portraying by way of Jim, a slave raised in the South during that time period.

Despite the few times in which Jim's description might though as racist, there are many points in the novel where Twain through Huck, voices his extreme opposition to the slave trade and racism. In chapter six, Huck's father objects to the governments granting of suffrage to an educated black professor. Twain wants the reader to see the absurdity in this statement. Huck's father believes that he is superior to this black professor simply because of the color of his skin. In Chapter 15 the reader is told of an incident which contradicts the original "childlike" description of Jim. In chapter 15 the reader is presented with a very caring and father-like Jim who becomes very worried when he loses his best friend Huck in a deep fog. Twain is pointing out the connection which has been made between Huck and Jim. A connection which does not exist between a man and his property.

When Huck first meets Jim on the Island he makes a massive decision, not to turn Jim in. He is confronted by two opposing forces, the force of society and the force of friendship. Many times throughout the novel Huck comes very close humanizing Jim's slavery. However, he is never able to see a reason why this man who has become one of his only friends, should be a slave. Through this struggle, Twain expresses his opinions of the silliness of slavery and the importance of following one's personal conscience before the laws of society. By the end of the novel, Huck and the reader have come to understand that Jim is not someone's property and less of a man, but an equal.

Throughout the novel society's voice is heard through Huck. Racism comes many times in Huck's journey to free a slave. But, it is critical for the reader to understand these are society's ideas and to recognize that Twain throughout the novel disagrees with these ideas. Twain brings out into the open the ugliness of society and causes the reader to challenge the original description of Jim. In a clever manner, twain creates a way to show that slavery is wrong while keeping his book controversial.