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.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start. I especially like how you seem to be 'qualifying' the teaching of the book by placing some limitations on it (good). Be aware, however, that the book was written well after slavery had ended (a point during which racism in the U.S. was viewed by some as even 'worse than slavery'--so the fact that Twain chose to set the novel in an earlier time period may have some bearing on whether or not you decide the novel is racist or not. In any event, I look forward to seeing your first draft on Thursday!