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

the color of his skin. In Chapter 15 the reader is told of an incident
important not to lose sight of who is giving this description and of
slave raised in the South during that time period. To say that Twain
The first time the reader meets Jim he is given a very negative
is racist because of his desire for historical accuracy is absurd.
of slavery and the importance of following one's personal conscience
quite saddening, was probably accurate. Jim and the millions of other
Despite the few incidences in which Jim's description might be
his subtle manner, he creates not an apology for slavery but a
subconsciously, ingrained some feelings of bigotry into his mind. It
this internal struggle, Twain expresses his opinions of the absurdity
wants the reader to see the absurdity in this statement. Huck's father
chapter 15 the reader is presented with a very caring and father-like
misconstrued as racist, there are many points in the novel where
racist and hateful contempt which existed at the time is at many times
Some common words found in the essay are:
Huckleberry Finn, Jim Island, Twain Huck, Miss Watson, Finn Jim, Racism Debate-, Huck Jim, huckleberry finn, description jim, throughout novel, chapter 15 reader, huck racist, black slave, huck's father, 15 reader, black professor, chapter 15, reader told,
Approximate Word count = 729
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
Category: English
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