teaching Huckleberry Finn in school

A detailed Summary of teaching Huckleberry Finn in school

To teach or not to teach? This is the question on many administrators' minds about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. For those who read the book without grasping the important concepts that Mark Twain gets across "in between the lines", many problems arise. A reader may come away with the impression that the novel is simply a negative view of the African-American race. Many scholars and educators, like Marylee Hengsetbeck who said, "If Huck Finn is used solely as a part of a unit on slavery or racism, we sell the book short." (Hengstebeck 32) feel that there is much to be learned about Blacks from this book and it should not be banned from the classroom. This is only one of many themes and expressions that Mark Twain is describing in his work. Another central theme is how the depiction of race relations and slavery is used as insight into the nature of blacks and whites as people in general. Overall, the most important thing to understand is that Mark Twain is illustrating his valuable ideas subtly and not pushing them upon the reader directly.

Primarily, Huck Finn teachers readers two important lessons about the true nature of people. Throughout the book, one of these main lessons is that Blacks can be

just as caring as whites. The white characters often view the blacks as property rather than as individuals with feelings and aspirations of their own. Huck comes to realize that Jim is much more than a simple slave when he discusses a painful experience with his daughter. Jim describes how he once called her and she did not respond. He then takes this as a sign of disobedience and beats her for it. Soon realizing that she is indeed deaf, he comforts her and tries to make up for the act of beating. The feeling that Jim displays shows Huck that Jim has a very human reaction and the fact that Jim says, "Oh Huck, I bust out crying....'Oh the po' little thing!" (Twain 151), only further proves to Huck that Jim is as caring as he is. Huck's realization allows him to see that Jim is no ordinary slave. The point where Huck completely changes his attitudes towards blacks comes when he is faced with the dilemma of turning in Jim. Huck fights with his conscience and also reflects on the things that Jim has done for him. "I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such like times: and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for and how good he always was..." (Twain) These two key scenes are among many that illustrate the idea that Blacks can be as caring and emotional as whites-one of the many lessons of the book

To understand why everyone makes such a big discussion about the book is an understatement. It is a great novel, showing how people carried themselves in the late 19th century. This novel is not a form of racism in anyway, [sic] but you have to have a small mind to think so. While reading it is hard to actually accept some of the actions taken, but with reading any book/novel accepting is apart [sic] of reading any book. But Mark Twain did not write HF with the word nigger, or any other aspects of slavery and violence, because he though [sic] it would be funny, of even racist. But he wrote it because that is how people in the time period, talked and acted. If we use another word such as African American there would not be the same controversy about HF or banning it from school only shows how small our minds really are. By letting today's youth read this novel, it is not giving them the idea of the word nigger being accepted. But showing us how cruel and small-minded out society can be, and how much racism affected the day. Mark Twains novel is apart of literary history, and should not be regarded as trash of that time, or now!

The second main lesson that the book teaches is that the world is full of hypocrites. Huck realizes that through his experiences with Jim that he and Blacks like him are not what he has been told. People like Miss Watson, who represent the established belief system of Huck's society tells him that blacks were nothing but property and should be treated as such. Huck new knowing that this is not the case ses that people, like Miss Watson, made up these laws to suit themselves. Furthermore, Huck sees that Miss Watson would often make up a regulation for him but not abide by it herself. An example of this concerns the subject of snuff. "And she took snuff too; of course that was alright, because she done it herself." (Twain ) Huck noticed this double standard even more now because he began he began to see that not everything Miss Watson told him was true. With this, Huck not only sees Jim in a new light, but begins to see that the people who supposedly know everything, didn't really know anything. Again other critiques of the novel state that as a whole the book is "a masterpiece of irony." (Kirkpatrick) With this second main lesson, the book defends itself against being banned.

In HF Twain is well aware of all the overtones, and racist statements in hi

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Approximate Word count = 3321
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English