Argumentative Essay: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Huck Finn Argumentative Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial novels to hit shelves in school libraries. This novel takes place during a period in American history in which slavery was deemed normal. Many people consider this novel outright racist for numerous reasons. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is racist and also promotes racism because it consistently uses the “n-word”, makes African Americans feel uncomfortable, and supports negative racial stereotyping. The “n-word” is used over 200 times in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the extreme overuse of this term promotes racism. The “n-word” has been replaced with the term “slave” in some altered versions of the novel; however the word ‘slave’ is not a synonym for the “n-word”. David Bradley has noted that slavery “is a condition. [He means], anybody can be a slave. And it's nothin' for anybody to be ashamed of. “But 'nigger' has to do with shame. 'Nigger' has to do with calling somebody something. 'Nigger' was what made slavery possible” ("’Huckleberry Finn’ and the N-word debate"). Censoring this term will remove the painful impact …show more content…
Huck plays numerous tricks on Jim throughout the novel and Twain portrays Jim as unintelligent. Jim is a representation of African Americans in the novel, by portraying Huck as superior and more intelligent Twain is suggesting that the reader should believe that all African Americans are like that. Laura Otten noted that, “the unpredicted outcome of Huck's trick causes him to feel some remorse, but this guilt does not keep him from continuing to treat Jim poorly in the future” ("Huck Finn; The Racist Protagonist"). Although, Huck is aware that he is mistreating Jim he continues on with his shenanigans. This is highly racist because the novel is teaching the reader that mistreating others is immoral, however, if you are mistreating an African American, then it is