In his novel The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, The author Mark Twain writes about the society of 1890s where Huckleberry Finn, the main character runs away from civilization and joins the journey with a run-away slave, Jim. The book is regard as one of the most wildly read book in America. It has been highly praised by some. For example, Ernest Hemingway once said that all American literatures come from the book. However, it also receives much criticism for its offensive vernacular language and the tendency of being racist. Many schools and libraries advocate for banning the book. To respond to these advocacies I would say that The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is such a great piece of literature in American history which depicts the raw authentic
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Many people argue that the anti-slavery book actually discriminate against slavery. “In 1957, for example, the N.A.A.C.P. condemned the book as ‘racially offensive’… In 1984 school officials in Waukegan, Illinois, removed Huckleberry Finn from the required reading list after an alderman, according to the Associated Press, ‘objected to the book’s use of the word nigger’”(1472) People denounce the book because of its offensive language and its vulgar dialects. Given that its language might be annoying to some sensitive people, the book nonetheless shows an authentic and realistic situation in the South during the 1850s when the slavery is the key issue in the nation and racial discrimination was pervasive. In the Explanatory at the beginning of the book, Mark Twain says “In this book a number of dialects are used…The shadings have not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with these several forms of speech.” (1289) The book criticizes slavery by describing how African-Americans were actually treated, as Mark Twain experienced himself. “ A socially constituted fiction, is a generalized, one-dimensional surrogate for the historical reality of Afro-American people.”(1474) As Donald Trump said that people are not gonna solve the problem unless they are willing to talk about what the problem is. Though I’ m not a supporter of him, this sentiment makes sense. People cannot deny …show more content…
However, for those sensitive students who read the book, teachers should address the language issue in the book well.They should tell them to focus on the plot and character development as a whole. They should explain the background history of the book so that they will not feel embarrassed by the word “nigger”. They should lead students to accept the reality the book conveys and point out the motive of the book. We cannot miss a masterpiece because of some potential
Many people argue that the anti-slavery book actually discriminate against slavery. “In 1957, for example, the N.A.A.C.P. condemned the book as ‘racially offensive’… In 1984 school officials in Waukegan, Illinois, removed Huckleberry Finn from the required reading list after an alderman, according to the Associated Press, ‘objected to the book’s use of the word nigger’”(1472) People denounce the book because of its offensive language and its vulgar dialects. Given that its language might be annoying to some sensitive people, the book nonetheless shows an authentic and realistic situation in the South during the 1850s when the slavery is the key issue in the nation and racial discrimination was pervasive. In the Explanatory at the beginning of the book, Mark Twain says “In this book a number of dialects are used…The shadings have not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with these several forms of speech.” (1289) The book criticizes slavery by describing how African-Americans were actually treated, as Mark Twain experienced himself. “ A socially constituted fiction, is a generalized, one-dimensional surrogate for the historical reality of Afro-American people.”(1474) As Donald Trump said that people are not gonna solve the problem unless they are willing to talk about what the problem is. Though I’ m not a supporter of him, this sentiment makes sense. People cannot deny …show more content…
However, for those sensitive students who read the book, teachers should address the language issue in the book well.They should tell them to focus on the plot and character development as a whole. They should explain the background history of the book so that they will not feel embarrassed by the word “nigger”. They should lead students to accept the reality the book conveys and point out the motive of the book. We cannot miss a masterpiece because of some potential