huck finn

so, for my essay i am planning on stating that huckleberry finn is a racist novel, hovever it should be tought in school. huck finn teaches students about the severity of racial intolerance, or if it does not teach them about it, huck finn definetely engrains intolerance more solidly into a students mind. i do think that the teaching of huck finn should be partenered with a us history class (like this year), this way the book can more easily be put into context. also during the time that this bok was set, racial slurs were the common way to refer to people of a race other than your own.

Huck Finn-Zero Draft

I plan to take a slightly different approach for my essay.... Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial books in history. It seems there will always be an attack against it whether it's the supposed racism or even the alleged remarks that there are homosexual occurences between Jim and Huck. Besides these points I still feel Huckleberry Finn should be a part of high school and college curriculum.

My main argument will be how I see Huckleberry Finn as mirroring America' s problems and obstacles (both past and present). This covers a large spectrum of the books controversy...
In terms of racism, I view the book as sort of having both, similarly our nation has both. The character in the novel are very diverse but somehow Huck manages to find a way to accept them all the way they are. Everyone from Tom (represents sort of a close minded, by the book aspect of society) to the King and the Duke (represent outcasts who have issues fitting in and resort to crime) I may do more character analysis or less..... Through this I can ultimately see that diversity can lead to tolerance....on occasion this is apparent in America as well. As well as the fact that though the ending is messy America is similarly confusing and disorganized at times.
*for this section i want to use quotes from the novel examplifying these points....

Another section will probably use quotes from critics to both agree and disagree with my main points .....Trilling maybe.....who else?

Its super rough....and i'll probably have to narrow down my argument but i am definitely open to suggestions :)

Huckleberry Finn- Zero Draft

I plan to take a slightly different approach for my essay.... Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial books in history. It seems there will always be an attack against it whether it's the supposed racism or even the alleged remarks that there are homosexual occurences between Jim and Huck. Besides these points I still feel Huckleberry Finn should be a part of high school and college curriculum.

My main argument will be how I see Huckleberry Finn as mirroring America' s problems and obstacles (both past and present). This covers a large spectrum of the books controversy...
In terms of racism, I view the book as sort of having both, similarly our nation has both. The character in the novel are very diverse but somehow Huck manages to find a way to accept them all the way they are. Everyone from Tom (represents sort of a close minded, by the book aspect of society) to the King and the Duke (represent outcasts who have issues fitting in and resort to crime) I may do more character analysis or less..... Through this I can ultimately see that diversity can lead to tolerance....on occasion this is apparent in America as well. As well as the fact that though the ending is messy America is similarly confusing and disorganized at times.
*for this section i want to use quotes from the novel examplifying these points....

Another section will probably use quotes from critics to both agree and disagree with my main points .....Trilling maybe.....who else?

Its super rough....and i'll probably have to narrow down my argument but i am definitely open to suggestions :)

Zero Draft

I am going to write this essay on how I think that the book Huckleberry Finn is not racist and that it should be taught in schools. I think that this book has many issues that people in today's society to not agree with. I do not think it is racist because it was how people acted back then and how people talked. I think that it should be taught because reading the book to others or reading it alone or someone reading it to you will help teach how the ways of life are totally different then how they are today. I remember how my mom taught me about slavery when I was younger and how I asked why most of them had colored skin and why people called them mean names. She explained it to me, and told me that it was how thing were back then and if we did not have books like this to teach us about history then we would not know anything about the olden days. I think that it is important to realize that the references that we have are important and influence how we live our lives today.

I think that these topics I have chose to write my essay on will be easy to create a strong argument. I also have gathered a lot of notes from the documentary we have watched so I hope this is a good start. If anyone has any feed back I would love it :) thanks!

Zero draft

Ok, so for my essay I'm going to write that the book is racist, that it is an extraordinarily flawed book but that, beside these points, it should be taught in school.

For proving that the book is racist I might talk a bit about the word n****r being used throughout the book but show how how this was typical for the time period and not racist, just accurate. BUT, the real reason the book was racist was the way Jim's character is abandoned in the end. The way he becomes "just another dumb n****r" at the end compared to being a true character shows how Twaine didn't want to spend the time to care about his main black character. In this uncaring the book becomes racist.

With very carefully thought out lesson plans, the book can be very helpful to be taught in school. The book can show a fairly accurate depiction of the time period and introduce the subject of racial relations in the 1800s. The real value in the book however, is learning by observing Mark Twain's use of writing. Even if the kids take no more out of the book than, "if you start writing a book you should have some sort of ending in mind," that is an important point. Looking at the way Twain's writing varies (the beginning of the novel, the amazingly fluid river scenes, and then the LOOOONNNNGGGG drawn out terrible ending) can give students good ideas on how to be an effective writer.

For points from the book I'll use sections from each of the three sections to illustrate their racism as well as how that can be useful to teach students. I'll probably quote a lot of Lionel Trilling as well as T.S. Elliot to show what they praise(or at least excuse) in the end of the book should really be criticized and taught as a racist failure. I would also like to expand on Smiley's idea that being an anti-slavery book takes more than simply having the main character acknowledge that blacks are people too. This can be an important point in proving that even when Twain was trying to make Jim a full character on the river, he still failed to prove an anti-slavery point.

Zero Draft

To me personally this book is racist because that is how black people were treated in that time. Throughout the whole novel Mark Twain kept up with this setting of this time period. In my essay i want to focus on how this book is not racist and should not be taught in school. I do not think it should be taught in school because if offends many blacks from the derogatory word choice. Also it offends blacks because Huckleberry and other characters suggest that black people are stupid. For some points in my essay i want to point out the history of this book and how it reflects the past. For example from a scene from the book is when Mrs. Phelps asked if anyone died on the steam boat. Huckleberry replied by saying "No only a nigger." Mrs. Phelps hearing that felt relieved because no "human" died. This is implying that blacks then were not real people.

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Racist but Worth teaching

The argument I intend on making for my essay is that Huck Finn is a racist novel, and it should be taught in school if a teacher presents the novel in the right way.

Huck Finn is racist because it is accurate to the time. Though it is hard to read at times because of how well Twain sticks to the setting, during many scenes where Huck has a decision to make about Jim, it shows him becoming less and less accepting of the societal norm of viewing blacks as inferior. So, even though this book is offending for its use of offensive terms, for the most part it uses that racism against itself to make Huck view blacks as equals. Scenes from the novel that can support this include just after the fog episode, when Huck feels bad for tricking Jim, and when Huck decides to accept possibly going to hell rather than let Jim remain captured near the end. Linoel Trilling, among others, will be great a critic to site when it comes to supporting this point. Mr. Trilling’s words on the change in Huck’s moral character work towards proving that the development the boy supports an antiracist mindset.

This book should be taught in school because of the moral values behind it. If presented in the right light, it may be extremely offensive to many students, but seeing how such racism hurts others could be a wonderful tool in preventing it in the future. As long as the book can be presented before hand with a warning to the racism and controversy that surrounds it, and the teacher is sensitive to how it is effecting the class, the first four-fifths of the book is fine to teach. I feel that most people would want to finish the book, but personally, I feel that ending the book after Jim is captured again would be the best way to teach Huckleberry Fin because after this point the book looses much of its morality. Leo Marx would be a wonderful critic to site for this, because he shares this view with me, thinking that the last part of the book ruins the moral points.

Huck Finn- Human Weakness

I think im going to focus on the idea of human weakness. I'm going to talk about all of the human flaws mentioned in the book, racism, dishonesty, greed, and unfairness. I feel that there are several cases in which the characters develop and overcome these flaws, making the book worth teaching. Although Huck frequently lies throughout the book, he does it to ensure the safety and security of others. He is always concerned about the state of others, before himself, as Lionel Trilling mentions. Huck and Tom tease Jim in the beggining of the book, but eventually Huck sees that it is truly hurting and worrying Jim, so he apologizes. This is a major step and development of Huck's character. He overcomes racism piece by piece, as society continues to be cruel and extremely racist. Another milestone in the book for Huck is when he burns the letter that he writes to Ms. Watson, revealing the whereabouts of Jim. He decides that he doesn't want to screw him over and that Jim is his best friend, regardless of his color. Yes, this book is flawwed and racist, but there are many sections in which Huck overcomes the general sentiment of the racist society. I feel it should be taught because it teaches so many lessons of how people shouldn't act, and how Huck does the right thing even though society labels it as "wrong". Even though the book commonly used the n-word, it was historically accurate. The n word was just another way of saying African American. The bell just rang so i can't type anymore, but these are my general ideas, and i just need to perfect them and get a better consesus of what im writing about. It's kind of unfinished =/

For my essay i am going to write about, how i believe the book is somewhat racist, but i do believe it should be taught in school. I am going to talk about that although there are many racist comments and parts of the book, i wouldn't necessarily classify it as racist, but more of a change in someones view toward black people and how it is gradually transformed throughout the book. for example like Huck transforming feelings for Jim throughout the book. Because of this I believe that this book should indeed to taught in school, cause it shows you how people can overcome and change their opinions about something, weather it be race or something else. I also believe that is should be taught in school because it was indeed the first book of its kind. and it is important for kids to know that. I think i will be taking quotes from throughout the book, that show Huck's changes in his feelings about Jim. so like the beginning when him and tom play a trick on him, then the fog scene, maybe a few scenes with the duke and king, and so on and so on. I am not quite sure what critics i will use yet, but i do know i am definitely going to use different quotes from the movie.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The argument I am going to write about is that yes this book is racist, but it should still be part of the high school curriculums. One scene that I am going to use to show that it is a racists book is when Mrs. Phelps asks Huck if there were any people hurt on the steamboat and Huck replies "no only a nigger." And Mrs. Phelps is glad because she says that sometimes people do get hurt. It shows how white people regarded black people as below human, animals. I am also going to reflect on the building of Jim's character and then it crumbles into how white people thought of black people, gullible especially. Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools because it shows racism in a light way. It uses adventures of two boys and one man, humor, and and simplicity to show racism. It also shows how although racism was a controversy for Huck, he thinks that he is making the wrong decision by saving Jim, and then he decides that he is going to go to hell, he doesn't care. The two main critics that I am going to use are Lionel Trilling and Jane Smiley because they have strong opinions and they oppose each other.

huck finn zero draft

huck finn...
well first of all id like to say that i very much did enjoy this book
with exception to some few plot defects, it offers an adventuress exploitative plot for many that helps draw people into the book. Now this book is undeniable racist. Yes Mark Twain failed to right the perfect book without bias(ohhh no) haha. I am going to argue that this book is undeniable racist and it would be a false monstrosity if it was not racist. he would have to skew, stretch and fantify. U cannot argue that this book shouldn't be taught in school because it is racist. thats like saying we shouldnt teach history because past people choices have offended people its just bullshit. i feel like this book should be taught in high school solely because it generates such controversy.

Realisn, not Racism!

I think that the main point that i am going to adress concerning Huck Finn, is the fact that, the book is no doubt racist. How can it not be? a book set in the early 1800's is almost required to be a racist book, everything back then was set as so. African-Americans were not refered to as blacks or african americans, but n*****s. This is something that there is no getting around, so i am tying to get around that fact. I believe that Huck finn should be taught in schools because this is a very acurate portraytal of the time period of the 1800's, and how life was, nit just concerning the racists aspect. There are many other aspects that contribute to the novels accuracy such as the constant dilema of alcoholism in many characters, the precense and fright over small pox, the shooting scene in the town, and many other scenes that made you imagine the time period, and be able to picture how things were not just for blacks, but for women, childern, and people in general.
I believe that therefore this book should be taught in schools. I also believe that there should be an two sided argument in every classroom. just like mr. lavender has done with our class. DON'T YOU AGREE??!!??!?!?!?!

Huck Finn Zero Draft

My view on this book is that it is a great classic American novel, but regarless to my personal view this novel is unargueably racist and should be taught in school. The racist theme in this novel, although obiviously apparent, and the use of the contorversial term was not meant as a demeaning verbal jab. Nigger was a term used to refer to african-american slaves, it was what they used it wasn't always meant to be condecending and demeaning. If you look past the frequent use of the word the novel doesn't have any strongly racist sections other than that against the "white trash" southerners. Jim is portrayed as a dumb black slave, but also has a loving and commical side where as the white people that Huck comes into contact with over the course of his journey are portrayed as drunk, ignorant, deceiving thieves. The relationship that Huck forms with Jim is also an example of how the racism can be overcome. This novel is some aspects is racists, because of the time period in which it is based, but racism is not the main theme in this novel. As for the book being taught in school I believe that it should, but not because it is an American classic. I don't think that there is too much to learn form the novel itself, other than how it displays the personality traits of the characters throughout the novel. It should be taught in school because of what it brings with it. The view of the controversy that the book creates is more important than the book itself. I will also including sources form what we read and the movie.

racist?

Although I may not feel the same emotions that this book or word may bring up while reading it, it emphasizes the voluminous amount disheartening qualities that humanity faces. We created a slanderous word to demoralize and dehumanize an entire race and we still face the maliciousness of this word in our society today. But should an entire book be censored and taken away from a broad range of schools? No. In the time that this book was written, this word was a very commonly used name. Yes it was meant to demean people, but with the help of racial movements has changed the meaning and amount of usage of that word. For instance, if a history book referenced the usage of the word in our history, then would you ban it? Our history as a nation in some places has been grim, but if we learn about how a word can negatively affect us, we can also learn what not to do in the present and the future. Because we all have issues as the human species and some of these are illustrated in the book. For instance, while Africans are demoralized, we also see some of the malicious traits of white people.

To some, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel. I can say that these people are crazy because it really is not. The use of the n word is written consistently throughout the novel. This word may offend them, but they should learn to accept that that is how it was back in the day. It was what they called an African-American. I'm going to take my stand saying this book is not racist on the fact that the language and the scenes that occured were accurate of the time.

If anything this novel also teaches good morals. The scene where Hcuk says that he'd go to hell for helping Jim gives a great feeling of toleration. He realized that this runaway slave was the same as him. It also shows the flaws in human nature, such as drunkenness, racism, trickery, and other things that humans do but are not considered good in society.

Like that chick in Culture Shock said, Twain "went for realism." The use of the n word was only historically accurate. Without using it, or making Jim sound like an idiot, the book would suck. The novel needed this elements, no matter if they may seem racist nowadays, to be successful and actually have a meaning.

I'll probably use Lionel Trilling's A Community of Saints to support this argument. He has many points that i agree with and could use

White Boy's Cant Jump... So?

Huckleberry Finn, what an adventure! Oh boy, do I love adventures! But you see, what hampers adventures the most, is when someone has to bring in a political argument that makes everyone agro for the rest of the trip.... What a buzz-kill. So when i finished Huck Finn, i felt bad for Mark Twain (And Im super serial) i mean he wrote this book to make money, okay, fair enough. But he also wrote the book to show his deep love for adventures and the kind of quests he went on when he was a kid. So when people like Ms. freakout from Culture Shock spew their comments about racial intolerance towards this book it makes me mad that the entire adventure is thrown aside to accommodate another argument, and if she had it her way perhaps another lawsuit.
So listen up lady, you can read all the books you want, and the chances are you might dislike some and you might love some, and other people will always have another opinion on the subject. So dont spoil someone else's love for adventure, especially if you have a skewed perception of the novel. To me, it appears to me that the only reason your daughter is so adamant about this subject is because without her support you would look psycho.

It this Book Racist? Should it be taught in schools?

The main issue of this book is, is it racist? I honestly, in my point of view dont think that this book is racist, but i dont think that any one can say that it is or isnt a racist novel. In the end i think that the fact of the book being racist or not is all in ones opinion. in the movie that we watched the mother and the daughter were very upset and hurt by this book and most definatley thought that htis book was racist. But then from the converstaion of our peers and of my own opinion the book is not racist in our eyes, that was the time period and it should be precieved as it was, not sugar coated. I know every thing has two sides and now im supposed to pick a side and write about it, but with a topice such as racism i dont htink one person can jsut pick on side you have to open yourself up to the fact that others might get upset and hurt by this book and acknowledge that fact. So in reality is the book racist? I think it depends and i want to write about both sides of the argument. I will use the movie most of all for this section of my paper. The second part of this paper is asking if it should be taught in schools. In my opinion i dont think that this book should be taught in school because i thin kit is a horrible book. I think that Twain had no idea what he was doing when he wrote this and i think that he had no plan or full thought to the book at all. Not only was the dialouge completely and utterly painful to read but the whole story boared me. There were few parts like hwen Huck realizes that Jim is a man and accepts that he is going to hell. the end of the book however was completly horrible, i will use a majority of the critics that you gave to us because i thin ktha ti can find something in all of them to support my case. even the parts that say that it is a good book i will just rip on it!

HUCK FINN ZERO DRAFT

I kinda think I'm going to write about how this book is racist, and should be taught in school. How could it not of been racist in a racist time? If it wasn't it would lose a huge amount of its autheticity and wouldn't be a great american novel. The use of "nigger" in the book may offend people, but it WAS the word they used and knew to represent african american people, it wouldn't make sense to put "african american" or anything else besides that word. I also like how Doug pointed out how it's not only racist to blacks but everyone. And how Huck, once he's alone with Jim realizes that Jim isn't just a "dumb nigger" and is an actual human with feelings and wants. I think this book should also be taught in schools, but only if the teacher teaches it how Lav dog did, making us think about if this book is racist and if it should be taught in school. This lets the students think, discuss, and argue about this book, leading to classes that get students engaged. It should also be taught in school because it is a great amerian novel, it shows how the american south was in that time period. I also may go off on a tangent about how Tom represents society and how if you don't do it by the books, it's wrong. Ummm....The river interested me, how when I read those chapters, I felt clam and relaxed much like how Huck and Jim felt.

Huck Finn Zero Draft

My essay will describe the way in which this book is clearly anti racist but is simply realistic regarding state of race relations in the antebellum south in 1835. One of the biggest arguments in deeming Huck Finn racist is the use of the currently very offensive word "nigger". Many people claim that this book is racist because Twain decided to use this word when it was not necessarily an allright word to use in the north when he wrote the book in 1884. The reason that Twain uses this word so prolifically is that it was a large part of the vernacular in 1835, the fact that the book uses the vernacular makes it the great American Classic that it is. Another reason why this book has been called racist is that it portrays Jim as a dumb individual because his is black. People who make this argument often overlook the main message of the book the way in which the reader's view on Jim changes. As the book progresses, we see Jim change from a dumb, trickable individual, to a caring, human, fatherly figure and huck's realization of Jim as a man is the anti-racist centerpiece of this novel. This novel portrays the friendship of these two and their journey as defying the racist ways of current society. Twain's record also suggests that is heavily anti racist

huck finn

I think I am going to say that i think the book has rascist words but how they are used throughout the whole story is not very racist. I also want to say that this book is a classic, wether or not it sucks, and should be read by english students. I think if the book is taught to spark debates or disccussion like lavander did for us it can be very helpful. the fact that this book makes some students angry and others bothered by the writing is the reason it can be such a good teaching guide. i am not really sure what passages im going to use for this essay, if anyone has any ideas please let me know. there are a few quotes i got from the movie that will really help in my arguement that this book is not racist if you look at as a whole book and not a few words in each page. also i want to make a huge point on how that was the word to describe people of color during that time period. reading the book now where that word is thought of as inapropriate is much different from the time that he wrote the book. so far i havent found a critic that is perfect for my arguement.. the movie is the thing helping me the most. i will have to read more critics before i find which one is the best for me. well thats all i can think of for now. if you have any ideas let me know.

Huck Finn Zero Draft