Ban Huck Finn in School?

A detailed Summary of Ban Huck Finn in School?


In his article "Finn's Wake: Twain's 'Huckleberry' is a Flawed Masterpiece," Gene Skoler takes a stand against Mark Twain's the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn being taught in junior and senior high schools. I find Skoler's argument to be contradictory, and some of his points are simply irrational. He recognizes that Mark Twain desired to place "Huck Finn" at the pinnacle of literary realism, yet he criticizes Twain for creating characters that behave realistically and as they would if they were real people. Twain's masterpiece deserves a place in every school, not only because it is a piece of literary genius, but because it is a way for us to combat ignorance in our society.

Skoler takes great issue with the sheer number of time the word "nigger" appears in the novel. He criticizes Twain for his frequent use of the word, apparently neglecting Twain's purpose for doing so. Twain intended to achieve unparalleled realism with "Huck Finn," a purpose which Skoler recognizes when he ac


The reason that people are so afraid of the word "nigger," and the reason that people often fail to see the true message in "Huck Finn" are the same: ignorance. Most people in society simply do not understand the power and significance of that racial label. If we do as Gene Skoler would like and ban Mark Twain's masterpiece from our schools, then we are not only developing policy around society's ignorance, but we are accepting ignorance instead of combating it, and that is an atrocity much greater than Twain ever committed with the "N-word."

Skoler's contradiction continues with his attack on Twain for portraying Jim, and essentially black men in general, as ignorant and uneducated. Jim displayed his ignorance through his superstitions, his belief in his magic hairball, his inability to recognize that the French don't speak English, and his acceptance of Tom Sawyer's elaborate plan to set Jim free. Skoler also believes that Twain did not bestow adequate dignity upon Jim. T

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 669
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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