The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Black Lives Matter. In recent months these three words have become somewhat of a call to action. The phrase, on the surface, seems painstakingly obvious but recent controversies surrounding race have made these words appear debatable. In February of 2011, a publisher’s decision to replace the N-word with the word “slave” sparked heated deliberation on whether Mark Twain’s beloved novel belongs in classroom curriculum. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught not only to contrast romanticism and realism in American literature but also in order to promote an awareness of how evils such as racism are advanced even today and to educate young students about the implications of racism both inside and out of their own race. Many critics …show more content…
The character of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn expose the changing face of American literature. Huck was less Romantic than the ever so intelligent Tom and this was illuminated when Huck “judged that all of that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyers lies. [Huck] reckoned that [Tom] believed in the Arabs and elephants” (Twain 17). Huckleberry is Twain’s representation of Realism because the South, pre-civil war, lacked the education system that would instill the knowledge of people beyond the boundaries of the Continental United States. It is incredibly realistic that Huck would not understand the existence of other cultures and life outside of his world view. Tom’s Romanticism is exposed when the band of robbers is being formed and “Everyone said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said, some of it, but the rest was from pirate books and robber books” (Twain 11). Tom Sawyer is the romantic character of the novel because he is far more educated than Huck. While Huck is attempting to evade school, Tom is reading books and stringing together beautiful words to make an eloquent oath. He is not an accurate representation of the South before the civil war which is why he is romantic and not realistic. Twain places these two characters together to illuminate their differences in …show more content…
Twain presents an uncensored version of history and that pain can cause “black parents [to] sometimes mobilize to ban the novel. Brushing history aside, however is no solution to the large challenge of dealing with its legacy” (Fishkin 3). Twain’s relentless use of the word “nigger” can make the tale difficult to read but it must be read to provide students with the understanding of racism. High school is a place where a student could walk down a hallway and hear a plethora of obscenities, nigger included. Mark Twain’s novels make students confront the language in an academic setting by analyzing the historic relevance and implications of the word, rather than their sole exposure to nigger being from the most recent rap single. Both academic and social acknowledgement of the word allows the students of all races to form a more rounded view of the implications of the word. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn creates discussion about the fact that “[Americans] continue to live, as a nation, in the shadow of racism while being simultaneously committed, on paper, to principles of equality” (Fishkin 3). Different groups of students will feel differently about the book based on their personal experience. Some will want to tackle the issue of racism in the middle of class while others slide deeper into their seats when racism is mentioned. Every person