American novelist Ernest Hemingway claimed that, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since” (Goodreads). Huck Finn follows the journey of a young boy trying to help a runaway slave reach freedom. Twain’s writing uses very realistic language and morals of the time period it is set in. Many argue that Huck Finn is negative and offensive; and that the writing is trash. This has been a highly debated topic across America. Despite the use of negative and offensive language, Huck Finn is an important piece of literature that accurately represents its time period and attacks the morals of slavery.
Mark Twain was against slavery in the time period he lived in. He discreetly attacked the morals of the practice throughout the novel Huck Finn. At one point in …show more content…
They feel that Twain’s use of the N-word and other derogatory language in the novel is not right. This is an understandable opinion on the novel; however, Twain used his writing to support anti-slavery and used many different circumstances in the book to do that. At the end of the book Huck states this about Jim, “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he’d say what he did say-so it was all right…” (Twain 207). Twain wrote this to show that Huck saw Jim, a black slave, as an equal person to him. When calling Jim white, Huck is showing respect and appreciation of his friend. CBS News asked David Bradley, an author and professor at Oregon University what his thoughts on the novel were. Bradley emphasizes that, “...the key to understanding Huckleberry Finn is through Twain's use of language, as the friendship between Huck and Jim unfolds” (CBS News). Twain did not use the language that he did to put down or insult anybody. He used it to develop a realistic story and take a shot at the ideas of
Mark Twain was against slavery in the time period he lived in. He discreetly attacked the morals of the practice throughout the novel Huck Finn. At one point in …show more content…
They feel that Twain’s use of the N-word and other derogatory language in the novel is not right. This is an understandable opinion on the novel; however, Twain used his writing to support anti-slavery and used many different circumstances in the book to do that. At the end of the book Huck states this about Jim, “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he’d say what he did say-so it was all right…” (Twain 207). Twain wrote this to show that Huck saw Jim, a black slave, as an equal person to him. When calling Jim white, Huck is showing respect and appreciation of his friend. CBS News asked David Bradley, an author and professor at Oregon University what his thoughts on the novel were. Bradley emphasizes that, “...the key to understanding Huckleberry Finn is through Twain's use of language, as the friendship between Huck and Jim unfolds” (CBS News). Twain did not use the language that he did to put down or insult anybody. He used it to develop a realistic story and take a shot at the ideas of