The Use Of Satire In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

When high school classrooms approach the time to read Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, unnecessary drama tends to appear alongside the novel. Many schools tried to censor the novel and flat out ban it from being taught in classrooms. Huckleberry Finn should not be considered a racist novel because of Twain’s use of satire, acceptance of historical realism, and the treatment of Jim in the novel. One of the key aspects of the book is the heavy use of satire. Twain purposely includes this to mock the events going on in his own society. The jokes he makes throughout the novel are for comedic purposes and should not be considered to have racial intent. Twain parodies “common life” and shows the flaws of society. Marcia Lusted explains, “During his lifetime Twain would also speak and write against war, in favor of labor unions, and in support of public education. Although we still remember him best for his books, Twain also made his …show more content…
They bring up the fact of the controversial word “nigger” being used in the novel for no purpose. The purpose of the word is to bring power and emotion into the story and show people how wrong racism was. Due to this word, many also believe it makes children uncomfortable in a classroom setting. We should be teaching the children to not give the word the power they think it has. If we are able to have a secure, safe classroom setting, children should not be afraid to read any form of literature. A mother of a high school student states in an interview, "I keep hearing, 'This is a classic, This is a classic,' ... I understand this is a literature classic. But at some point, I feel that children will not - or do not - truly get the classic part - the literature part, which I'm not disputing,"(Wakefield) She brings up that children will not understand the classic novel, but it does not help kids to learn it by removing the book from