Dilemma over Twain’s Novel
Every year, kids in The United States of America all attend school to learn about different kinds of subjects, hoping one day to get a job. Most would think that in the classroom, everyone is equal; however, that’s not the case. Mark Twain, famous author from Hannibal, Missouri, wrote a novel by the name of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book has been debated on, as some say their children should not have to read this book, due to the discrimination of blacks in the story. That is a very opinionated statement, as everybody has his or her own opinions about something. However, the “n-word”, the importance to American History, and John Wallace’s article, all add up to make this appropriate for school.
Nowadays, rappers and in public, the ‘n-word’ is commonly used, as if it had no meaning. The black community uses the word as a brotherly term towards one another, something only that race is allowed. David L. Smith states, “He uses the term "nigger," and he shows Jim engaging in superstitious behavior. Yet he portrays Jim as a compassionate, shrewd, thoughtful, self-sacrificing and even wise man.” Smith, a professional critic, looks …show more content…
Wallace, an African American who recently had done this review/criticism on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, called this book "the most grotesque racist trash ever written” (Wallace 309). Wallace may not have looked deeper into the book’s context, as the ‘n-word’ was maybe the big picture he received from the story. As the time-period that this took place in was quite racist, neither Twain nor his story qualified as racist. Twain’s justification for Jim labeled as a “nigger” comes later in the book, and the qualities given to Jim proves that he is just like everybody else, no less of a man, but no greater, as we must believe our skin color does not make a difference of who we
Every year, kids in The United States of America all attend school to learn about different kinds of subjects, hoping one day to get a job. Most would think that in the classroom, everyone is equal; however, that’s not the case. Mark Twain, famous author from Hannibal, Missouri, wrote a novel by the name of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book has been debated on, as some say their children should not have to read this book, due to the discrimination of blacks in the story. That is a very opinionated statement, as everybody has his or her own opinions about something. However, the “n-word”, the importance to American History, and John Wallace’s article, all add up to make this appropriate for school.
Nowadays, rappers and in public, the ‘n-word’ is commonly used, as if it had no meaning. The black community uses the word as a brotherly term towards one another, something only that race is allowed. David L. Smith states, “He uses the term "nigger," and he shows Jim engaging in superstitious behavior. Yet he portrays Jim as a compassionate, shrewd, thoughtful, self-sacrificing and even wise man.” Smith, a professional critic, looks …show more content…
Wallace, an African American who recently had done this review/criticism on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, called this book "the most grotesque racist trash ever written” (Wallace 309). Wallace may not have looked deeper into the book’s context, as the ‘n-word’ was maybe the big picture he received from the story. As the time-period that this took place in was quite racist, neither Twain nor his story qualified as racist. Twain’s justification for Jim labeled as a “nigger” comes later in the book, and the qualities given to Jim proves that he is just like everybody else, no less of a man, but no greater, as we must believe our skin color does not make a difference of who we