The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a Controversial Book
Uploaded by Boming on Nov 27, 2007
The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a controversial one. There are people who believe the book is racist due to the use of the word nigger, and some of the situations in the book. While others believe that it is the story of a black man, and a white boy coming to friendship, and is not racist at all. But if you take time to read this book through and through, then you will find that the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is not racist.
This novel may have some scenes in it that seem like a racist situation. Such as the use of the word nigger. This word was used to address black people, it was not a derogatory term, but just another way of saying black. Over the years it may have changed and now has a different meaning, but during times of slavery, it did not mean anything but black. This novel was written in a time period where it would be the normal thing to treat blacks badly, and if the white people did not treat them with disrespect then society would look down upon them. Huck, who is a young white boy, who has run away with Jim, can relate to him, and actually helped him out. Which was not a normal characteristic of behavior for whites towards blacks during this time period. At first Huck had his doubts about helping Jim to freedom with him, because he knew he would be in a lot of trouble if anybody caught him with Jim. You could have been punished helping a black man escape from his owner, it was illegal, but Huck still helped Jim knowing the consequences. When Huck and Jim are about to embark on their journey together, Jim tells Huck he has run away. “People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum-but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t a-going to tell.” (50) This was a statement made by Huck, telling Jim that he would not tell on him for running away. If Huck Finn and this novel were truly racist, Jim would have been turned in right there and then. And Huck would have never even thought about helping him.
If The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...