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.