Race in Huckleberry Finn - Essay Example

? Number] Race in Huckleberry Finn Introduction Huckleberry life expeditions presented by Mark Twain is indeed the work of a genius. The endeavours of Huckleberry along with his friend Jim and Tom Sawyer have gigantic inside message which has been beautifully portrayed by the author. Upbringing of neglected child & than making a way into mystery solving is commendable and demonstrates that nothing is unachievable in the world. Determination, focus and willpower are actually the name of the game. The chronicles of Huck’s life show slavery, racism, poverty; however depiction of these subjects was very roughly presented in the novels due to the usage of unpleasant language. The history of the character Huckleberry shows that he had been a victim of father’s abuse. He was an under privileged child and had to face many hardships in his early childhood. Due to no proper guidance, Huck was involved in various immoral activities. Thus moral values were of no significance in the eyes of Huck. He had two friends Jim and Tom Sawyer. Huck was able to get Jim out of a widowed slavery. Tom after reviewing the abilities in Huck was highly impressed and this became the core reason behind their friendship. Tom was inspired by the way Huck independently enjoyed his life. Analytical Review Various literary personals have discussed the vital issues raised in the Adventures of Huckleberry and several other books of Mark Twain. Some analysts praised views of the writer and some argued about very harshly. The goal of the writer represented that he identified unsung immoral values of the society and presented a realistic picture. Basically the writings of Mark Twain are based on true life stories and according to him; he illustrated what are the common deficiencies in our social system. Julius Lester views about the work of Twain were not very encouraging and discussed that how this novel had a huge impact on the masses. Recalling childhood, he remembers the way author presented his work was interesting for some individuals but it was dreadful for the masses. The thoughts of David Smith are more in favour of Mark Twain. He explicitly focuses on the power of optimism which the author fabricated in his novels. He is of the view point that the intentions behind the scholarly work of the author were appraisal of equality and demolishing of racism in the world. Lester Reviews Julius Lester, one the biggest critique on the novel has openly challenged the writings of Mark Twain and as he was an African American, he is of the views that Mark Twain exploited black Americans and has insulted them. The illustrations of Lester about the American literature are quite different from the usual writers as he watches literary works with depth and mostly his reviews are very different from the general critics. Neglecting the role of black people and portraying a white boy with a spectacular brain remained one of the focuses of his critique. He says that the writer criticism about the black people however is unsympathetic and unforgiving. In the adventures of Huckleberry, Jim is described as a black guy who was living a slavish life under the custody of a widow. Jim was a boy with strong moral values and had great respect for people. He had a smart brain and according to the sight of Lester, he was the best character in the whole novel. Lester thinks that the views presented by the author are basically sugar coating of worldly facts. He thinks that intention of the author was to have a conflict between white and black people. In the whole novel there was not a single place where writer condemned the rights which were not given to the black. Especially back in those years when novel was wrote, blacks were in a miserable condition in Southern America and writer was from Southern part and precisely knew the scenario of the region. In the earlier years and still today, Lester thinks that blacks are protesting for their legal human rights, they have not been facilitated with good education, discrimination on the basis of race is still implied there and the living of blacks in South is made miserable. Lester goes one step further and mentions Jim as the greatest individual in the whole novel. The way Jim spent his lives in slavery and then got rid of it was tremendous. The role of Huck in this whole scenario was just to get Jim into his court; however his intentions behind this action were something else. Jim was a perfect individual and should have been the actual hero of the novel at the end, but writer showed his racist act in this area as well and declared Huck as the hero and the best human being, all over the novel. Huck stepping forward and protecting Jim from the slavery was actually denial of mainstream Christianity practices. This deed would let Huck into hell but the objective of the writer was to show the liberal and secular side of persons. He further describes that the way Twain covered his work agenda with humour, wittiness and by adding some historic facts should not be tolerated. All the novels of Mark Twain show racism and all the literary work of the author should be banned as it prevails a very negative attitude. Blacks are fighting for their cultural identity and in this certain time, books of these types can lay pessimism in the society. Addition of Mark Twain’s work in schools and colleges will be playing with the societal norms as young bloods would have a similar set of idea about black people which Twain had. The way integrity of Jim was represented was very horrible and offensive. The depiction of Twain’s work is not very appealing and can destroy several innocent student minds. Utilizing the words like “Nigger” is actually an abuse, widely propagated in the novel which is a matter of serious concern for African Americans. David Smith Reviews Even it has been a long time since Mark Twain died but his literary work has been appraised and criticized by many personages. David Smith defends the literary works of Mark Twain in a very gorgeous manner and propagates his viewpoint in a respectable manner so that there would be no confusion among the readers. A vast majority of reputed literary individuals appreciated the works of David Smith that how he defended the case of Twain and confined historical realities. David Smith viewpoints about slavery were very clear and he was against it. He supported black rights campaign and cleared himself that he was with African Americans in this matter. Calling Negros to a set of individuals was wrong according to him, and he considered them equal to all American nationals. He was against those who considered blacks inferior. Smith was an optimist and a fan of Twain’s writings. He presented the light of optimism in the novel. The chapter of racism as discussed by many of the critiques of Mark Twain is totally illogical as the author talked about one of the most burning topic of racism with black people marvellously. Instead of criticizing the author, Mark Twain should be appreciated that he became an essential tool in the upbringing of such an important topic. Remembering the position of society when novel was written is essential as black people were not given any sort of importance and their rights were violated and slavery was seen common. In this era, novel author brought this critical issue to the masses and showed that how boys like Jim are an asset for the society and what good impacts they can bring on people. Jim was the one who was a ray of light in Huck’s life, as Jim taught social and moral values to Huck. The role of Jim is heroic and commendable. Conclusion Different authors had different viewpoints. The conclusion of this whole dilemma is quite clear that Mark Twain instead of hard times on black showed the best side of African American and with humour and adventure, he identified those fundamental rights which were not given to them. He also delivered a message of anti-slavery which was a bold step at that specific time. Some literary personals take his work negatively however the message of Mark Twain was anti slavery and protection of black rights. Work Cited Lester, Julius. “Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” In Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Ed. James S. Leonard, Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M. Davis. Durham: Duke University Press, 1992. Print. Smith, David L. "Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse." Mark Twain Journal, 22.2 (1984): 4-12. Print. Read More