racismhf Prejudice and Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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Huckleberry Finn- Racist

Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn depicts how he is a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in his novel make slaves look like fools. Mark Twain does this purposely to make colored people look and sound like fools, because he is a racist person.

Before even getting to chapter, one Mark Twain puts a notice on the book. "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot" (Twain, 2). Twain uses this to show people how he is as a person. If you go against him, you may be prosecuted, banished or even shot. This most likely is because he was a racist and needed power. If slaves were to go against him, they will lose. Mark Twain uses these words to build himself up, and make himself sound like a more powerful person.

Mark Twain uses characters that are very similar to him as a person. Huck's father, Pap, is a person like Twain. Pap is a drunken man that is very temperamental. He tells Huck of all the things that Pap feels is nonsense. Pap is always trying to be a powerful figure in Huck's life. Mark Twain probably uses Pap in the book to show readers that he is the same type of person. Twain uses this book to show that he is racist person, and used Pap to show that he is a power thirsty person as well.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book that was made to degrade the black population of America. Jim, a runaway slave, meets up with Huck after he runs away from Pap. When Jim and Huck see each other, Jim drops to his knees pleading Huck not to turn him in, or hurt him. Mark Twain does this to show that when a black slave and a white person meet the slave should drop to their knees before the white person.

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