The Controversial Classic of Huckleberry Finn - Essay Example

The Controversial Classic of Huckleberry Finn The book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has always been a controversial topic of discussion, due to its content. Its content includes a story of a young boy, Huck, which helps his slave friend, Jim, to escape to the North to gain his freedom during the 1830s in the United States. Although Huck is very young, he grew up to that age in a slave society, which consequently leads him to be racist towards other slaves. His racism is seen throughout the novel and is also the main reason the book is so controversial. The racism in the book to some extent encourages a motivation to use the n-word. Many articles about this book suggest that the book should be taught for several reasons. They suggest the book should be taught due to the viewpoint it gives on slavery or the fact that this book was purely a recitation of the radical and unjust events which took place in the South during the period of slavery and therefore, is historically accurate. These arguments do come off as logical, yet they are insufficient. The damage this book inflicts to black students being taught Huck Finn is very crucial. Black students will experience the pain of the word "nigger" throughout this unit even if it is not applied to them directly. Huck Finn should not be taught due to a multitude of reasons such as its excessive use of derogatory terms, teachers' inability to teach Huck Finn in a multiracial classroom without creating an unjust situation for black students, and due to the better alternative books about this time era with a preferable perspective. The excessive use of derogatory terms in the novel, Huckleberry Finn, causes many students reading the book to integrate this language in their speech, whilst discriminating students, as well as victimize innocent black students. The novel Huckleberry Finn uses the derogatory term of "nigger" over 200 times ("Case against Censoring ‘Huckleberry Finn’ "). Blacks in the classroom will get displeased by this, as they see the term "nigger" being applied to themselves. This fact can in no way be avoided in a classroom environment. In addition, other students reading the word over 200 times might embody their language with this word and insult black students with it. These conditions are absolutely unjust and unfair. The white portion of a class might have mixed feelings about the word "nigger" being used in the text of Huck Finn, whilst the black portion of the class might feel overly hurt, moreover highly offended by the stereotype. Twain unfortunately does not realize that he overuses the word "nigger" and overemphasizes the hurtful slave stereotypes in the book. Many passages throughout the book display this theme, yet the following quote is quite racist when its content is thoroughly analyzed. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger—but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way” (Twain, 65). Huck explains that he felt sorry for the prank he had pulled earlier in chapter 16, he expresses great regret over his actions. He then goes and apologizes to Jim for his misdemeanors. When he does that he refers to Jim as a "nigger" not a friend, yet he does do this in his thoughts. It does not seem like realizes that referring to Jim as a "nigger" is racist and subduing. In addition, throughout the passage the reader could sense that Huck was not very enthusiastic about apologizing to Jim, a black man, which means that Huck prefers whites over blacks. All of this evidence suggest that the book is very racist and subdues the black race. Clearly, black students are not pleased with envisioning their race minor to the white race and are offended by this passage. Therefore, the book shall not be taught due to its demeaning language, as well as due to the hurtful dialogue and the offensive stereotypes which permeate in the book. Many teachers have difficulties teaching a class the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn due to the fact that black students are present in most classrooms, and they most likely will be offended by the book's content. A common question which is debated alongside the controversy of the current status of Huck Finn in school curriculum, is how English teachers should introduce the Huck Finn unit. Many ask how an English teacher should explain a multiracial class that the next unit that they will be analyzing can be offensive to the black scholars of the class, whilst not being offensive at all to the white scholars. This question can be exceptionally burdensome for a large number of teachers. That is because there is no "right" way to teach a multiracial class Huck Finn, and teachers are unable to action upon that fact. In the youtube Video "Born to Trouble" a number of parents meet in order to discuss the matter of Huckleberry Finn teachings at their local high schools. One of the mothers state that due to the teachers unprofessionalism in this specific field of teaching her two sons became very upset as seen in the following quote from the video "Born to Trouble": "I had two sons at high school, they were teaching Huckleberry Finn in the class, I saw their pain, I mean they literally came home crying,….". This quote demonstrates how effective the derogatory terms and stereotypes in the book really are. Although Twain's purpose is not designed to offend anyone, its content does. Her two sons were most likely aggravated by other kids which used the term they had just seen being used by a normal white person over 200 times in a book. Even though the book is not meant to subdue one race to another, it clearly is interpreted that way and causes much harm to black students. Huck Finn should not be taught due to the fact that black students are being discriminated and caused mental damage. Black students should not be discriminated because of their race and put into unjust conditions in a classroom because they will suffer under its consequences while the white children won't be discriminated at all. Despite the fact Huck Finn provides for a solid basis of knowledge of understanding how southern whites acted towards slaves, as well as a great insight into their culture and society, there are much better books which include a better perspective of the slavery issue as well as a more prominent understanding of the issue of slavery. Many suggest that Huckleberry Finn should be taught due to its historical truths and value which it provides, as well as the viewpoint it gives on slavery, and the fact that this book was purely a recitation of the radical and unjust events which took place in the South during the period of slavery, not a racism promoter, and therefore, is historically accurate. In addition, to the attitudes of whites towards slaves can be observed throughout this book. However, it does not have the correct viewpoint which scholars should read about. Due to southerners excessive racist attitudes, many things which seem immoral to others seem moral to them. This might cause the book to miss important factual content making the book to some degree inaccurate. In order for scholars to receive a correct viewpoint of slavery, they need to read a book with a different perspective of slavery. One book which is perfectly able to accomplish this standard is slave narratives. Slave narratives gives a much better perspective of slavery, instead of the racist white southerners reciting their experiences with slavery in slave narratives the victims, the slaves, explain their point of view. Fountain Hughes tells his story of slavery and how the southerners abused slaves and how he was treated by his masters. At one point the interviewer asks him who would he rather be in the slavery era. To this Hughes responds: "If I thought, had any idea, that I'd ever be a slave again, I'd take a gun an' jus' end it all right away. Because you're nothing but a dog. You're not a thing but a dog."(Berlin, Favreau, Miller, 305) This passage from slave narratives, stated by Fountain Hughes, a former slave before the civil war, says that he suffered his enslaved life to such an extreme extent that if he had to live through it again, he would just immediately end his life. Therefore, Slave Narratives is a much better book to be taught instead of Twain's very racist novel. The adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great book to read and is classified as an American classic. It portrays much racism within its text and is therefore not a good choice for a school curriculum. Due to the fact that there are many substitutes that can be used instead of Huckleberry Finn, which include much better insight and a more unbiased perspective of slavery, the novel shall not be taught. This enables all races of students to proactively learn about the slavery era of the United States and the unjust condition in which the slaves lived in. Huck Finn should not be taught due to a multitude of reasons such as its excessive use of derogatory terms, teachers' inability to teach Huck Finn in a multiracial classroom without creating an unjust situation for black students, and due to the better alternative books about this time era with a preferable perspective. works cited "The Case against Censoring ‘Huckleberry Finn’." Maryland Daily Record. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. Twain, Mark, and Donald McKay. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1948. Print. Born to Trouble. PBS, 1999. Video Tape. Andrews, William L., Henry Louis Gates, James Albert Ukawsaw. Gronniosaw, Olaudah Equiano, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Henry Bibb, Sojourner Truth, William Craft, Ellen Craft, Harriet A. Jacobs, and J. D. Green. Slave Narratives. New York, NY: Literary Classics of the U.S., 2000. Print. Read More