Mark Twain was a man who took a controversial approach to waking up his readers. Many school districts and libraries banned his classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, due to its nerve-striking content. Many people only see what is on the surface of Huck Finn and ignore the true message within the text. Some teachers whilst reading aloud to the class even refuse to openly say “nigger,” which is found two hundred and nineteen times in the novel. From all of this Twain and Huck Finn have gathered a bad reputation despite all the thought provoking and positive aspects of the novel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be kept in high school curriculum because it showcases a truthful side American history, teaches morals and values, …show more content…
One of the biggest issues readers have about Huck Finn is the abundant usage of nigger. Since the book is claimed to be “whitewashed” it has been banned from many schools and libraries for being a racist novel. A public library in Massachusetts detested the content of the novel, removing it from the shelves and followed by stating, “trash...more suited to the slums than to intelligent, respectable people,” (Apstein 2). Another author even went as far as comparing Huck Finn and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, another challenged book, and said, “I would rather my children read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, even though it is far more vivid in its depiction of cruelty than Huckleberry Finn,” (Smiley 7). Many people see the book as a “racist novel.” Nigger is used repeatedly and the slave, Jim, is mistreated, but Twain was simply no sugar coating the very real side to the mistreatment of blacks in his society. It is also said in the novel that Jim is “white on the inside.” Huck says this because the only thing he was ever exposed to was the idea that whites should be superior. If he sees a man who is meant to be treated less than human as someone who is respected based on skin color than the audience should see this as the ultimate moment of friendship and acceptance. This concept solidifies the novel’s importance remaining in …show more content…
There has been a continuous fight to alter Twain’s writing and even to remove it altogether. However, the argument against Huck Finn is not strong enough to withstand its importance to remain present in high schools. While reading, students must face racism during its prime, that even continues to plight America, but at a much different scale. They are also greeted with plentiful morals and values that can be easily applied to their own lives as Twain intended. Mark Twain wanted to wake up society and today’s youth can still fulfill his goals. Lastly, the characters in Huck Finn will always be similar to people that readers or nonreaders of the novel will eventually come in contact with. Those are only a few of the many reasons why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic with a reserved spot on any public bookshelf. As H. L. Mencken simply put, “I believe that 'Huckleberry Finn' is one of the great masterpieces of the