Racism in Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is one of the greatest works of American literature ever written. As Ernest Hemingway said in his book The Green Hills of Africa, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," (Zwick). It (Huck Finn) "is a staple from junior high . . . to graduate school" and "is second only to Shakespeare in the frequency with which it appears in the classroom . . . " (Carey-Webb 22). However, since Twain published his masterpiece 115 years ago, it has been the subject of much unfair criticism. The problem with Huck Finn is that it's dated. What was common language back in Twain's time is now offensive to many. While some say that Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is racist, the contrary is actually true. Twain used the central character of Jim to portray the humanity of African Americans. The book is defended because it is one of the reasons American society has changed so greatly. "Huck Finn brings !to light American pre-Civil War culture in a way that merely stating the facts could not"(Zwick). Today, the main objection to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the fact that the book contains the w
Twain completed Huckleberry Finn in 1884, at a time when black identity in American society was undefined. Even though blacks had been granted citizenship in 1870 by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, Southern white society still looked upon them as sub-human creatures without souls or feelings. Post-Civil War Federal Reconstruction programs had failed miserably in their goal to re-unite a divided nation and to give economic and legal assistance to blacks struggling to find their place in white mainstream society. Instead of improving the status of blacks and establishing in practice those rights to which they were constitutionally entitled, the programs only succeeded in generating the alienation of an already demoralized white South and escalating racial tensions. Although Twain may have used a negative stereotype in his creation of Jim, throughout the novel he provides his audience with a clear view of Jim's humanity behind the minstrel mask. This contradiction reflect! Another example of Jim's humanity comes at the end of the text. Jim is a prisoner on the Phelps's Farm awaiting his return to slavery. Huck has discovered where Jim is being held and has decided to help him escape. Then Tom arrives on the farm, and they both begin to plan the escape. Huck "went to thinking out a plan," but he soon defers to Tom's elaborate but ludicrous plan: "I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine, for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would . . ." (384). Jim has little choice but to bow to Tom's dehumanizing, manipulative plan, hiding behind the protective minstrel mask of "humility, ignorance, emotional deadpan, deference and placatory compliance" that all slaves were forced to wear in order to survive under white supremacy and hostility (MacLeod 12). Despite literary criticism to the contrary, however, Jim does not relinquish his humanity. "What Twain shows us, rather, is that Jim is and continues to be a man--but a man under the! Ellison, Ralph. "Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke." Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1977. 421-22. to Hell for Jim. Huck contemplates telling Miss Watson about Jim, but Huck decides he would rather go to hell than betray his friendship with Jim (Clemens 169). Huck Finn is not a racist book, in spite of Huck's initial racist standpoint. Through the course of the novel, Huck gains increasingly more respect for Jim, but still shows some racist attitudes occasionally. After the disagreement with Jim over the biblical story of "ole' King Sollermum", Huck remarks that "you can't learn a nigger to argue," thus implying Jim's stupidity (Clemens 65 and 66). Throughout the book, Huck plays tricks on Jim, which are also meant to make Jim feel stupid. His practical jokes cause Jim emotional pain and even physical pain. On Jackson's Island, Huck kills a rattlesnake and places it in front of Jim's blanket to scare him. The rattlesnake's mate comes and bites Jim on the foot. Jim is sick for four days and four nights subsequently (Clemens 46). By the end of the novel, Huck vows not to play tricks on Jim and he acquiesces to "humble himself to a nigger" (Clemens 72). He gains respect for Jim to the point where Huck will sacrifice his soul and go! Carey-Webb, Allen. "Racism and Huckleberry Finn: Censorship, Dialogue, and Change." English Journal 82 (November 1993): 22-34. Huck acknowledges Jim's unselfish act of humanity through the only perspective he knows--his white consciousness: "I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say--so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor" (408). Huck goes to town, finds the doctor, and sends
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2533
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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