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
Jackson,
ReplyDeleteThough this post seems fairly unspecific, I can get the outlines at least of your approach to this essay. I take it that you want to defend the inclusion of the novel on the grounds that it is not only a realistic portrayal of the south in the 1840's (and therefore beneficial in and of itself), but that its protagonist, Huck, actually provides a good model an individual who manages to rise above and reject his inherited racism. I think that Peaches Henry's essay might be useful to you--as would be Kevin Cato's piece on the history of the 'N' word (both are in the packet).
I look forward to watching your essay evolve!