Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, made a good choice to include controversial words in the book to show racial injustice and should be taught in schools. The fight on racism is one of the most important parts about the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain uses satire to poke fun at people and show them they are wrong; twisting their beliefs. Satire is used on anything from religion to racism to stereotypes. A great example from the book is when Pap goes on and on about how government lets blacks be free, “It was ‘lection day, and I was Just about to go and vote, myself, if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out” (Twain 20).
Do Not Censor Knowledge! In the dark ages and during the third Reich of Hitler, free and opinionated speech in the form of books were burnt and destroyed. These books and stories that people put their life and their memories into, are lost forever. In the United States people try to censor books, words, and other things that they think people shouldn’t see or read. People should be able to decide what they want and don’t want to read.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was highly controversial although not immediately after it was written. It was published in 1884 and caused little controversy until in 1955, when a televised version of the book used a white man to play Jim, Huck’s slave. They also eliminated any mention of slavery from the show, proving that the book was not well received. Among numerous other complaints, in 2009 a Washington high school teacher requested for the removal of the novel from their school curriculum, mainly because of the use of the word ‘nigger’. So many protests were received that an alternate book was released, called The Hipster Huckleberry Finn which replaced the word nigger with hipster.
The novel The Catcher in the Rye has been censored many times before. “Between 1961 and 982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States,” (Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network) and that is exactly thanks to its use of “profane language, blasphemy, undermining of family values and moral codes” (The Banning of the Catcher in the Rye) . Parents believed that this novel was not good to be taught in school and wanted it to be extinguished from school curriculum. “A parent once declared the book “Communist” (Attempted Censorship: “The Catcher in the Rye”). That’s how bad parents viewed this novel.
Debating the Banning of a Great Novel Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is responsible for the controversy caused by the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel has been banned in many high schools across the nation for the foul language applied and the sentiment it brings to those who may relate to it. Yet many are unaware that the purpose of the novel is not to bring about resentment but to appeal the reader to the circumstances in which the characters lived. Some disregard the notice at the beginning of the novel, which contains an explanation for the dialect used. Many choose to find a plot in the novel, although the author clearly states that the novel purposely lacks a plot.
Every word in a book brings out a different effect or emotion, if a sentence is missing this word the effectiveness of the sentence is weakened. In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain uses the word “nigger” over 200 times in a book of 293, that’s almost the work “nigger” on every page. But this word makes a strong statement in this story and is needed to tell the story with it’s full meaning. So why is it that people want to ban this book from schools? Is it really just because of this word?
The author wrote this novel in a satirical tone that is present throughout the entire book and “Twain Knew well what he was doing” (Powell). Huck Finn appears to, on a very basic level, attack religion and African Americans heavily but in actuality the author uses a great amount of satire to fight for the rights of blacks and he is in no way attacking any religion. Religion seems to be a constant target for criticism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Those who are religious are often seen as too trusting, and many of them are manipulated because of that. It is apparent that Twain pits religion against racism and in the book Huck feels like he has to give up all religion in order to save his new found friend, Jim.
Many people believe that the degrading and disturbing term “nigger” is used unnecessarily and superfluously throughout the novel while others say that it only brings to light the punitive reality of our history. Huck Finn is a very important part of American Literature and demonstrates to students the harsh reality of our past which is why it should not be removed or banned from high school classrooms and libraries. Twain wanted Huck Finn to satirize the South and its slow, painful development of eradicating slavery and
“Speakeasies of the Prohibition Era” an article by Kathy Weiser explains how all speakeasies and anything else to do with illegal alcohol actions led to the unhealthy era of America. Connected with poverty, crime, corruption, social problems and tax burdens drinking was said to be the source of all evil (Weiser). Why America kept this Amendment in for thirteen years no one still knows because it did not make us a healthier place to live as a
As sociologist Douglas S. Massey has said, “segregation is a key cause of poverty because where one lives determines much about the life chances one faces." And this in the United States is "Created by White prejudice, Actualized by discriminatory behavior and Condoned, if not supported, by government." Today both, in the US and in Europe as well, overt racism is replaced by “politically correct behavior” and the reality of social relations has been rarified. This has made the evil of racism omnipresent, omnipotent but still invisible. It is to the credit of White societies, that, this art is not only universalized but its social reproduction is also ensured.