Huck Finn Criticism

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is labeled one of the greatest American novels ever printed, however there is much criticism over whether or not it contributes to racial discrimination. In my opinion Mark Twain’s motive wasn’t to write a racist or anti racist novel, rather he was simply commenting on the social norm of society during that time. The use of the “n word” was accurate during the 1830’s but today it holds a profoundly despicable meaning which leads us to believe the novel is racist. Therefore my main argument is that Twain did not write a racist nor anti racist novel, but a novel depicting southern society during the 1800’s.

Whether or not this novel should be taught in school I am indifferent about, we shouldn’t hide from history or alter what the 1830’s were like, yet some are too quick to judge that it's racist and can't comprehend the true meaning behind the text.

This is just the start to my paper or thesis and i'm still trying to figure out all my thoughts in a more organized manner!

I will be using Leo Marx, TS Elliot as my supporting critics and Trilling and a few others as the foils.

SORRY this blog is also late I just couldn't figure out exactly what I was going to write about, I kept changing my mind.

Hope everyone had a fabulous break!!

This One's From Sarah W.

For my essay on Huck Finn I'm arguing the point that it's not a racist book but it should not be taught in schools. I think if a teacher wants to show their kids about racism, there are better ways to do so instead of reading Huck Finn. Could I argue the point about when this book was written? And that its more looking back on how things were, almost making fun of it making it an adventure story? I'm still reading through the other articles and readings but I'll be also mentioning that it had to have some racism in the story so that Huck could make that transition to accepting Jim as a friend. Does this work? What do you think??

Racist and Should Not be Taught

Huck Finn is a both a racist as well as an antiracist novel. However, I am going to argue that it is racist overall and should not be taught in the classroom. The only portions of the novel in which Jim is portrayed as a fellow “human” is when Huck and him are on the river. The river symbolizes the freedom that they both really which to have and the shore represents the life they are trying to get away from. So on the portions where the two are on the river, this is clearly an antiracist book and worthwhile to teach. However, once Twain introduces the duke and the king, the book should no longer be read. It baffles me that Twain could so easily just forget about Jim and write the boy book that he had planned on writing. That is all he wanted to create. A simple boys book that would allow him to gain much profit. He had to include the word “nigger” because that was what was used as the term for black people. This term is not racist it’s the implications that it causes. Twain had no intention of being racist or antiracist. He wrote this book to make money. When he realized that he was writing about a black man’s quest for freedom, he had to put the book away. He had no idea how to continue with it, if he gave Jim freedom then his book would not sell as well. Twain used Jim for his own, as well as the readers, entertainment. He had no intention to write a racist book. Although there are portions of the book that are antiracist, it doesn’t account for the last 13 chapters in which Jim was completely demoralized as a person and Huck went back to being the sidekick. Twains whole novel went down here at this moment. Some critics believe it is because he wanted a circular plot but this book did not need this kind of plot. This book should not be taught. This is not because it is racist but simply because it is an awful book. There are parts that are humorous, I will admit that, but the last 13 chapters ruined the book. Jim just allowed himself to be demoralized like that simply because the white boys knew better than he did. Huck also went back to the old boy he had grown out of prior to this point. This book should not be taught because it is an American classic, personally its not worth the time of day to have this highly esteemed title. When it first came out, Twain received high criticisms, no one liked it. It seems strange that it went from this review to one of the most highly liked books. It also should not be taught simply because it is racist. If this were to be the case, a book should be read that further emphasizes the huge race gap back then. It would benefit the classroom more to read a book written from a black slave perspective. This book in my opinion was not worth the time of day, it is racist, and should not be read.
Ps. Mr. Lavender I am so sorry I did not get to blog prior to this moment. I did not have internet access until today so I am very sorry! I am also sorry that my thoughts are so jumbled, I just wanted to get them out as quickly as I thought of them. I also did not bring the different critic articles with me so I cant reference them at this moment but I know who and what I am going to use in order to back up my opinions.

Huck. Not Racist and Worthwhile

Huck Finn, written by Samuel Clemons, is not racist, for the reasons many have banned the novel, and is worthwhile in teaching; but only for advanced students who accept the controversies this novel brings because having it be a mandatory book for students younger than juniors is probably not ok as it wasn’t meant to be a children’s book and it will be a waste of time as they will not fully understand and focus all the novel around the word “nigger”.

Parents and students need to understand before hand the controversies surrounding the novel and the racial conflicts brought to light or it will be a big waste of time and anger.

“Having all focus on word “nigger” like having all focus on Thomas Jefferson being that he owned slaves”

Good teaching opportunity to discuss what word meant back then, and how important it is to be historically accurate in a work. Can’t look over this racism more than we can look over the racism in our own country. Can’t brush aside these topics, they need to be discussed as they have been huge factors in the construction of America and process we have gone through as a nation and people.

Tells us a lot about the time, like Shakespeare and can be primary sources for historians. Cleaning up the art by changing to “slave” takes away meaning from novel and is then just, nothing. Like covering up nudity in art.

Although Clemons didn’t set out to make a novel that addresses issues of race, writing a follow up to Tom Sawyer as Tom was a total cash cow, he discovered the topics of the quest for a slaves freedom and the racist society of that time and was the reason he put aside the manuscript for 3 years. When he came back and had his two months of enlightenment, Clemons used a satire to show people how ridiculous, unfair, and awful slavery was (is back then) for the entire world and the people.

Equality is on the river, where Jim tells off Huck and Huck apologizes to him. They are equals.

Jim stays with Huck because he knows Pap is dead and realizes he has to care for him because he has no father. Jim is portrayed better in contrast to Pap, a white racist alcoholic that left his kid and comes back for Huck’s money, whereas Jim is fighting for his freedom and the freedom of his family that he loves but still takes care of this young child. Protecting him, staying up late on the raft for the lookout so he could sleep, and jeopardizing his life, in terms of being under harsher slave rule, for Huck. Then in the end Jim steps out and again realizes he will jeopardize his freedom and become a slave again by helping the doctor save Tom after he was shot in the leg.

Critics that agree:

Shelly Fischkin

Cherry Hill article

Peaches Henry

Kaplan

Fiedler

Critics as foils:

Marx (Against)

Jane Smiley: we read these things, Shakespeare, Huck Finn, others because they also tell us about the time period in which it was written.

Justin Cathin (Morality one on web page)

Anti-racist

Anti-Racist
Jim is the first black character in a book
- This is the first book were they humanize black people
-Once we actually get to know Jim he isn’t as stupid as he was portrayed in the beginning
River vs. Shore
-Huck defies society to help Jim
-Huck started to really care about Jim
-“they’re after us”
-Huck tears up the letter and says “I’ll go to hell”
All racist characters are assholes
-There are racist characters but that doesnt mean the book is racist but it is just what the people were like in that time
· When kids were young they didn’t think that anything was wrong with having slaves.
·
It should be taught in schools

Huck: Anti Racist

The book huckleberry film is a non-racist book and it should be taught.

-There are many points in the novel where it is evident that Huck is not a racist. For example, when Huck said “They’re after us!” it shows how Huck is with Jim. At that moment, Huck could have easily turned Jim in, but he thought of Jim as his friend. --- -Huck lies to the slave hunters to protect Jim.
-Huck goes against society to protect Jim. Although he knows he should turn Jim in, he tears up the letters saying “I’ll go to hell.”
-Jim and Huck are together almost the whole book, this is the first book in American literature where there are feelings towards a black person.
-Huck apologizes to Jim after his trick
- The N word was historically accurate.
- Jeff Nichols stated that “The word is there for a reason.”
- Martha T. Moore said the N word is there ” to convey the language and attitudes of Missouri in the 1840s”

Alright brand new essay, Huck Finns portrayal of slavery and racism. Lets do it!

Huck Finn- And Non-Racist book that should be taught

Huckleberry Finn an American Literary Classic creates and image that many literary analysts think is racist, but others think the book is anti racist. The way Jim’s character is portrayed can argue either point – the way Huck Finn was the first book to create an African American as a real character and creating him as a human and not a dehumanized like all of the books before Huck. We also see how Huck transforms from being raised as a racist white boy, later in the book we see how he transforms and grows to become friends with Jim and breaking the law for him.

Huck Finn Creates many good arguments that should be discussed in the classroom and children of the high school should argue how they feel about the novel, the book should be taught but with care toward the students in the classroom. It is good to have these discussions in the classroom to make the students be more cautious of the word and be aware of ‘word’.

Kira

Huck Finn the racist novel

Since the day Huck Finn was published it has been very controversial over three main topics. Is is racist, should it be taught, and is it a good book. Yes it a racist book, but at the same time it is a cornerstone of American literature and should be taught in classrooms.
Mark Twain wasn't trying to write a book that had so much controversy over it. He wasn't trying to write a racist book, but he did. The start of the book is racist. We see Jim demeaned and tricked by a dumb and stupid white boy named Tom. We don't see Jim as a human in the beginning, but rather a property of Miss Watson. Then again on Jackson's Island, Huck tricks Jim by a dead snake in his sleeping area because Jim thinks snakes are bad luck. Jim ends up being bitten for this. The final trick we see is when Huck and Jim get separated by the fog, Huck, when he finds Jim again says that it was all a dream. These three tricks demean Jim below the level of a normal human, and he is pitted as stupid. In those days a slave owner would never just free a slave, so we see that as racist towards Jim's part because that would never happen.
Now we do see Jim become a character along the river, and we see Huck grow and develop his own morale's. But this is all to be depleted at the end when Jim is once again, shoved below the dumb white boy Tom, and Huck's growth is stinted. This does bring us back to where we started, even though Jim is free, he is demeaned and pushed below humanity. Jim grows and becomes a true human, but then that is all diminished at the end. That is Jim's greatest blow, because now he is once again a dumb black man.
Yes this book maybe racist, but it is still a cornerstone for American literature. We see a boy deny the norms of society to do what is right. In this regard we have to put aside the ending. The whole river scene, we see a friendship grow between a boy and an adult, and we are able to see then growth off and with each other. Huck even admits he "go to hell" to try and help Jim get freedom.

I'm going to argue that the book should not be taugh in schools, especially not a liturature class because it is a peice of crap. After reading Jane Eyre this book is unbeleivably poorly written with constantly changing themes and ideas. Its almost like Mark Twain sat down, said "I'm going to write a sequel to Tom Saywer." and then proceded to throw out a jumble of random ideas. He even had to stop writing at one point because he had no honest idea about what the hell he was going to write next.
I'm going to use Jane Smiley, Frederick Douglass, Kevin Cato, David Bradley, and Ms. Montero as my supporting crictics and some information from the Hartford Courant, Peaches Henry, and Mr. Eliot and Mr. Trilling to argue against. Parts of the book im going to use are parts where Jim is left on the raft and completly forgoten about, or when Jim and Huck pass Cairo and the book looses it orriginal theme, again, and how it changes from a boy's book to a man's book more than once through out the narrative as well as the fact that Mr. Twain set the book aside for three years to think about what his own idea for the whole book is, as well as the random addition of seemingly unessisary characters that seem to show us no morals or lead us to no life changing conclution.

Rascism in Huck Finn

Thesis: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a racist novel and should not be a part of the high school curriculum, not because of its racist roots but because it does not accurately portray the history of slavery.


- better choices (Uncle Tom's Cabin...Narrative of the Life of an American Slave)
- cannot hide the racism of the novel by simply taking out offensive words
- "...was anyone hurt..."
- *Jim is treated as stupid*
- "depiction of cruelty" (Smiley Say It Ain't So, Huck)
- "Moreover, the most serious motive in the novel, Jim's yearning for freedom, is made the object of nonsense" (Marx  4) Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn
- 


The solution is not to re-word or change the novel of Huckleberry Finn, but to be rid of it entirely. A better choice such as Uncle Tom's Cabin or Narrative of the Life of an American Slave, should be read in place of the abortive novel of Huckleberry Finn.

Huck Finn Criticism

The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is thought of a racist novel by some, and an anti-racist novel by others. In my opinion, the novel is racist now but because the book was based in the mid to late 1800's, the book was not racist when it was written.

One of the reasons Huck Finn wasn't racist when it was written is because when slavery was around, that was the way that they lived and it was normal for them to treat black slaves like that. It was the way that the characters in the novel were raised and that's what they thought was right. For Huck to help Jim out of slavery and try to help Jim rescue his family was not racist and never will be racist. At one point in the novel, Huck is being chased by the police and he runs up to Jim and says "Git up and hum yourself, Jim! There ain't a minute to lose. They're after us!" By saying this Huck is implying that they are in it together and Huck is willing to go to hell to help save Jim.

In the present, the novel is racist because of the way they treated the slaves. Many of the characters called Jim a “nigger” throughout the whole novel. Recently that word has become more and more racist and many people in America hate when ever the word is used. Another reason it is a racist novel is because of the way Jim is portrayed. He is depicted as a stupid slave that doesn’t now how to do anything but work. The novel is also racist when Huck was talking to Aunt Sally and she asked if any one got hurt. Huck replies with “No’m. Just a nigger.” And Aunt Sally says “Well, it’s lucky, because sometimes people do get hurt.” This is saying that the characters in Huck Finn don’t view the slaves as real people, and that it didn’t matter that one got killed. This is very racist in the present but it wasn’t racist at all when the book was written.

Finally, the topic of whether or not the book should be taught. I think that it should be taught if the student’s parents are okay with their kids reading it. It should be taught to show students what life was like in the 1800’s and to show them that things like that should never happen again. It shows them how hard it was for a slave to become free and it shows that it is good to help people that are less fortunate than you. All in all, this book is a great book to teach to kids if they understand that nothing should ever be that way again.

Huck Finn Anti- racist

Huck Finn is Anti- racist and there are many scenes and arguments that support this idea.

- Jim is portrayed well- this is the first time in American literature that a black person is characterized.
- Jim and Huck's transformation- they are on this adventure TOGETHER
- "...there after us"- no one is after Huck. Jim is Huck's friend and he wants to help Jim get freedom
-Huck defies society to help Jim- Huck goes into the town to see if anyone is after Jim, tears up the letter about having Jim to Ms. Watson, "he's white" defends Jim so he won't get caught
- Jim isn't as dumb as they (people of the time) portray him- the three tricks: when Huck hangs Jim's hat in the tree- "rode by they witches" ,the snake, and the Fog. Jim gets offended that Huck thinks he's so stupid- he trusted Huck as a friend
- Humanizes black people- same as above
- racist characters not a racist book- all racist characters are ass holes
- Huck believes in Jim- tears up letter- "I'll go to hell"
- River vs. Shore ----> Reality vs. Society. Huck is contaminated by society. Its when he goes into society that he is mean and racist to Jim. The river is reality, this is when Jim is a PERSON

Why it SHOULD be taught:
- closest thing to a national epic
- if the n-word didn't mean anything today we wouldn't care that it was in Huck Finn
- n-word was the operative word at the time- Twain going for reality
- not about race---> about America---> getting away from society and the "shoulds"
- good literature transforms the audience
- have to teach b/c fundamental American liturature ---> first time black person is characterized

Huck

Arguing that the book is terrible, racist and should NOT be taught.
My main points are:
-jim being portrayed as stupid
-jim not being in the novel for such a long time
-the unrealisticness of this novel
-the "n" word
-the racist phrases throughout the novel
-how twain was writing for a racist society to make money
-using leo marx as a reference
-using other sources as a foil
-using the novel as well as the documentary
-how this novel can hurt people
-no word can replace the "n" word without being just as degrading
-direct quotes from the novel
-paraphrasing critic's views
-getting across to the reader that this book is not only racist but a horrible book and should not be taugh in schools
-trying to get rid of racism not promote it
....Let me know if there is anything else I need to add! :) thanks

Huck Finn: The Non-Racist Novel

Huck Finn, as we know it, is a very controversial novel. Is it racist or not? Should it be taught in schools? Those are the big questions that everyone faces with this novel. I say that the novel is not racist and it should be taught in school. If anything the book is not racist, but just ignorant. The time period Twain lived in was a very racist time period. Of course you're going to see words like "nigger" and racist comments said by characters in the book. People thought it was OK to say such things, blacks at the time were not seen as equals. So if the time period is racist, then why is the main character friends with a black man? Why is the black man an actual character that you care about and he has feelings. Just because other characters say racists remarks and "nigger" is found on almost every page, it doesn't mean the book is telling you that black people are inferior to white people. It's just the setting of the book and you have to look deeper at the meaning of the book, which is the adventure and the positive relationship made between Jim and Huck. Though many will argue that at end of the book, when Jim is locked in a shack by Tom, it destroys the whole build up of  Jim's character. That might be true, but the book is not telling you that black people should be locked up in shacks. It's just a twist in the novel. It may be terrible, but twists in novels aren't all good.

Huck himself is not racist, but totally oblivious to certain matters. Huck looks up to Tom and thinks Tom is so cool, but we all know Tom is a dumb ass. Huck doesn't say anything to Tom when Jim is locked in the shack because he thinks Tom knows what's right. Even though Huck really made himself an individual in the first 13 chapters, he's too young to know what Tom is doing is wrong. He likes Jim and we see that when he said he would go to hell to save Jim. He's a kid, not a saint.

Part 2 of the argument: Should it be taught in school? Hell, yes it should. It's a great piece of literature, Hemingway said it himself, and it gives of us a brief taste of American History. It's well written (the sloppy writing grows on you after you read it for a bit) and it's entertaining to read, unlike some other pieces of literature (*coughcough*Jane Eyre*coughcough*). Huck Finn should be taught in school, though it doesn't mean the teacher shouldn't warn students that it has offensive terms in the book. If the teacher just goes ahead, gives the student the book, and doesn't warn them of derogatory statements then it could cause an uproar. Huck Finn must be presented carefully and the teacher needs to tell students what to expect.

I'm going to make a ton references to the book (obviously), counter Jane Smiley's statements, and backup Peaches Henry's (along with others) claim.

So PLEASE give me some constructive feedback and I'm interested to see what your ideas will be in your posts.

Huck Finn Criticism -Rachel

In my opinion Huckleberry Finn has been vastly simplified over the course of its criticized life. The question of racism within the book is only one tiny element of a much more complicated plot with a sophisticated message about society as a whole. Though an underlying anti-racist current does exist in this book it is deeply buried beneath a mountain of satire and obvious racism (such as the minstrelsy tone and use of the n-word). In addition every bit of growth that is awarded to Huck and his anti-racism is nullified by an ending that defeats anti-racism again by showing the power of society, manifested in Tom Sawyer. Accompanying this in the text is also Twain’s smaller (but still significant) jabs at women, and children, and white men, and at human kind in general. There is also a bit of a transcendentalist feel to the way the river holds so much power, even more than society does. So therefore my main argument is that this book is not about racism, but is a satirical depiction of southern society in the 1830s.
However the question of it’s being taught in schools is more clear cut to me. I do not think this book should be taught in high school. High schoolers are in a period of their life where they are just beginning to understand the concept of not taking things at face value. As such, they are still liable to misconstrue (or just completely miss) Twain’s deeply obscured anti-societal message. This will lead to an immature take on the book by many, and great offense for others. After all, Twain uses the n-word nonchalantly, a word that to this day holds a profoundly vile meaning that carries with it all of the endured hatreds of slavery. Due to this fact I think it should be a book that is left for colleges to teach. It is not a boy’s book as was intended, it is a very serious adult book that deals with very sensitive issues. College professors will be better able to teach the book than most high school teachers, students have a choice to take that class or not, and those students that do wish to learn it will be more mature and equipped with the discerning power necessary. In addition this book holds many lessons about society that I think those young adults about to spring on society could find valuable. In addition to this I think high schoolers should be taught something that more accurately depicts slavery in the south. This would be more beneficial because it will give a different perspective on the issue than that which we are most often exposed to: that of the slaveholding white male.
To make my points I will be using a few sources. The book, is of course necessary. I will use T.S. Eliot to highlight the transcendentalist elements of the book. I will use Lionel Trilling as a foil, to discuss how the book does not speak ‘truth’ as he says, and Frederick Douglas as an example of what actual truth is. I will use Kevin Cato to show the implications of the n-word. I will use Leo Marx to show the defeat the end shows. There are other sources that I will also include to show the implications of the text, but the actual text is my number one source.

Huckleberry Finn Racist?

Since the time that Huckleberry Finn was published it has been criticized be a wide array of people, ranging from novelists to parents. Although the novel does contain the n-word, I hardly think that Mark Twain intended on writing a racist novel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a sequel written to make money from the already popular adventures of Tom Sawyer. However, since the novels release critics have found every racist comment and implication in the book. Yet looking at the novel in a view that nigger was the word that people used to refer to black people the book is not racist

Throughout the book Jim and Huck experience quite an adventure as they travel along the river, and in almost every situation they are presented with Twain places Jim in a very positive light. Jim is constantly viewed as a compassionate, loving man, he cares a lot for Huck. In several scenes throughout the book we see Huck apologizing to Jim and referring to Jim as his friend. In one scene Huck actually says that he would rather go to hell then tell Miss Watson that he is aware of Jim’s whereabouts.

The people that argue that the book is racist often refer to the use of the n-word, however when Mark Twain was writing the book it was a much more commonly used word then it is now. Although it is a horribly racist term Mark Twain’s novel was the first novel to put a black man in a book as a central character, and create a relationship with the character. Jim is incredibly easy to love and personally I thought that he was the best character in the book.

In one of the essays we read about Huckleberry Finn we learned that Jim was a character based off of Mark Twain’s slave that his parents owned when he was growing up. A slave that Twain loved and respected, I feel that that is a clear indication that the character Jim was not put in the book to be made fun of or dehumanized but put in there to show a different opinion of black people, one that was positive.

Another big issue that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn faces is the ending, over and over again people comment on Tom’s racist comments and actions. Tom forces Jim to live in a prison, coming up with the most degrading ways to treat Jim. However as I read the last 13 chapters of the book I felt that it was obvious that this particular part of the book was meant to be satirical, Mark Twain created elaborate schemes because he wanted the reader to know that the ending was purely satire.

I feel that this book isnt racist, and that it is a classic piece of literature that should be taught in classrooms across the country. It is a novel that can bring a sense of awareness about the n-word in classrooms everywhere. Huckleberry Finn is an important part of our curriculum.

For my essay concerning the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I would like to cite the following sources:

the documentary, T.S Elliot's essay, Peaches Henry's essay, Jane Smiley, the novel, Mr. Trillings essay and a few outside sources