Huckleberry Finn - Racism Debate

A detailed Summary of Huckleberry Finn - Racism Debate

In recent years, there has been increasing discussion of the

seemingly racist ideas expressed by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn. In

some extreme cases the novel has even been banned by public school

systems and censored by public libraries. The basis for these

censorship campaigns has been the depiction of one of the main

characters in Huckleberry Finn, Jim, a black slave. Jim, is a

"typical" black slave who runs away from his "owner" Miss Watson. At

several points in the novel, Jim's character is described to the

reader, and some people have looked upon the characterization as

racist. However, before one begins to censor a novel it is important

to separate the ideas of the author from the ideas' of his characters.

It is also important not to take a novel at face value and to "read

between the lines" in order to capture the underlying themes of a

novel. If one were to do this in relation to Huckleberry Finn, one

would, without doubt, realize that it is not racist and is even

On a superficial level Huckleberry Finn might appear to be racist.

monumental decision, not to turn Jim in. He is confronted by two

which contradicts the original "childlike" description of Jim. In

childlike, not very bright and extremely superstitious. However, it is

deep fog. Twain is pointing out the connection which has been made

between Huck and Jim. A connection which does not exist between a man

Approximate Word count = 790
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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