that many people have found disturbing. Although some argue that the novel is

extremely racist, careful reading will prove just the opposite. In recent years

especially, there has been an increasing debate over what some will call the

racist ideas in the novel. In some cases the novel has even been banned by

public school systems and censored by public libraries. The basis for the debate

is how Jim, a black slave and one of the main characters, is depicted. However,

if one was to look at the underlying themes in the novel, they would realize that

it is not racist and could even be considered an anti - slavery novel.

The most popular problem people have with this book is the use of the word

"nigger". It must be remebered that during this time period it was not considered

much of an insullt. You can also notice in the book it was not meant offensively by

Huck, or taken offensively by Jim. This is what Stephan Shepard had to say about the

banning of the book and the use of the word "nigger":

In addition to removing Mark Twain's novel from the

slavery and importance of following ones personal conscious before the rules of

Finn are ridiculous. It is stupidity to go back and apply standards that are

considered race to be a major factor in the novel and Twain himself was more

Some common words found in the essay are:
Huckleberry Finn, King Duke, Pap Huck's, Huck Jim, Jim Huck's, Mississippi Valley, Mark Twain's, Mark Twain, Jim Huck, South Blacks, huckleberry finn, mark twain, university press, description jim, oxford university press, oxford university, york oxford, hundred ago, white characters, throughout novel, twain reader, york oxford university, york cambridge university, mark twain racist, book word nigger,
Approximate Word count = 2576
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)