Professor

ENC 1102 Huckleberry Finn Still on the List The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain and originally published in 1884, is perhaps of the greatest novels to have ever been written. This novel tells the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, two young boys living in Missouri along the Mississippi River. Twain’s novel however remains on the list of books to be burned in public libraries because of its perceived racism, threat and assault on religion, and outdated portrayal of African Americans. One of the truly troubling aspects of this book arise from the fact that much of the dialect used contains racial slurs that many find offensive. The word nigger is used quite frequently in this piece of literature. In fact, it appears roughly two hundred and fifteen times. A public school administrator, John Wallace, once regarded Huckleberry Finn as “the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written.” An example of such is found in chapter eight where Huck says, “"Yes. You know that one-laigged nigger dat b'longs to old Misto Bradish' Well, he sot up a bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much (Twain 30).” This novel shows that Mark Twain is perhaps a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in this novel make slaves look foolish. When opening the book there is a notice in the book that reads, "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot" (Twain 2). Twain uses this to show people how he is as a person. If you go against him, you may be prosecuted, banished or even shot. This most likely is because he is a racist and needed power. If slaves are to go against him, they will lose. Throughout this story, the social views on racism are cleary noticeable in the relationship between Huck and Jim. Though they appear to share a close bond, Jim, is at the mercy of Huck solely because of the fact that he is white and therefore has the power to turn him in at any time for a very significant reward. That is why Jim is going along with the ideas of Huck and later Tom Sawyer despite his better judgment. Due the manner in which Huck is brought up, his white roots and societal views are hard to completely shake off. This is apparent when Huck begins to feel guilty for lying to white men along the Mississippi when they ask if he is hiding any runaway slaves. Another example of the racial double-standard is when he arrives to the home of the Sawyer's relatives. They incarcerate Jim in a barn out back because he is a runaway slave. However, they take Huck in with open arms because he is white. They both are in the same situation running away from oppression, and yet there is a double standard. One of the most obvious representations of this is when Huck is talking to Sally about the steamboat explosion. He says that only a black man was killed, Sally states that "It was a good thing that no one got hurt." This proves that blacks were not considered on the same level as human beings. Their lives were obviously not valued and therefore disposable. They were merely replaceable figures. There is a compelling argument that this novel presents a dangerous threat to religion. Religion is sarcastically reflected in Huckleberry Finn by Twain’s sense of storyline and the way his characters talk. A primary theme, and probably one of Twain's favorites, is his mockery of religion. Twain makes a point to attack organized religion at every opportunity and the sarcastic character of Huck Finn is in the perfect situation to allow him to do so. The attack on religion can already be seen in the first chapter, when Huck indicates that hell sounds like a lot more fun than heaven. This is found throughout the novel, with one main scene occurring when the "King" convinces a religious community to give him money so he can "convert" his pirate friends. Twain’s skeptical take on religion is evident because superstition is a theme that both Huck and Jim bring up several times. Although both of these characters are quite rational, they quickly become irrational when anything remotely superstitious happens to them. Huck himself comes across as religious but having trouble believing in God. Although he tries to pray, he finds it to be a waste of time. Later in the book, he encounters the dilemma of whether or not to steal Jim out of slavery; he is forced to reckon with the fact that, according to his society, helping a slave escape will condemn him to Hell. His famous quote "All right, then, I'll GO to hell"(Twain 134), is a direct attack by Twain on the religious support of slavery in the U.S. Another part of this book once again delegitimizes religion when Huck makes the following comments: "I set down one time back in the woods, and had a long think about it. I says to myself, if a body can get anything they pray for, why don't Deacon Winn get back the money he lost on pork' Why can't the widow get back her silver snuffbox that was stole' Why can't Miss Watson fat up' No, says I to my self, there ain't nothing in it. I went and told the widow about it, and she said the thing a body could get by praying for it was "spiritual gifts." This was too many for me, but she told me what she meant -- I must help other people, and do everything I could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about myself. This was including Miss Watson, as I took it. I went out in the woods and turned it over in my mind a long time, but I couldn't see no advantage about it -- except for the other people; so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go." (Twain 10) A most persuasive argument that continues to emerge in this ‘discussion’ is the notion that this novel is out of date or has ran its course with regard to today’s African Americans. Huck makes light of this in the book: "Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio -- a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane -- the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think' They said he was a p'fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain't the wust. They said he could vote when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to'” (Twain 18) America is a far cry away from the old injustices that once stained this nation’s reputation. There are much advancement that have been made and are being made by African Americans. Perhaps the most significant of these is the election of an African American, Barack Obama, to the Presidency. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrays blacks as uneducated, showing no foresight, and frankly incompetent. While this perhaps is consistent with the setting of the time, it is not true today. In the long controversy that has been The Adventures Huckleberry Finn's history, this novel will continue to spark a deep and intense debate. The book encompasses complex issues as mentioned above and more. For these reasons individuals will continue to critique it, and it will remain on the list of books to be banned in public libraries because of the constant debate that ensues. Works Cited James S. Leonard, Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M. Davis. Satire or Evasion' Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. 1992. 3 December 2009 . Kaplan, Justin. Mr. Clemens and Mr. Twain: A Biography. New York City: Simon & Schuster Adult, 1991. Powers, Ron. Dangerous Water: A Biography of the Boy Who Became Mark Twain. Hannibal: Perseus Publishing, 2001. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.