Huck Finn: racism
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist novel, nor is Mark Twain a racist author. The novel was a satire on slavery and racism, that, as well as raising social awareness, was also one of the best American novels of all time. Since it was first published, Huck Finn has caused much controversy for mixed reasons, which recently included the use of racial slurs and accusations that the author himself was racist. Most of this controversy stems from Twain’s frequent use of the word “nigger” when referring to black slaves, including one of the main characters, Jim. Today, that term is considered a seriously offensive racial slur. However, in the setting of the novel, and during that time period, this is the term most frequently used to describe African Americans. Since Huck Finn was set in the south before the civil war among slave owning whites, it would have been completely inaccurate to use terms which are now considered politically correct. The use of the term “nigger” was also used for effect. One of the devices Twain applied to call attention to the immorality of slavery was the use of an innocent child to narrate the novel. Especially today, hearing such words come from a child is distressing
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Huck Finn, Mark Twain, Law School, huck finn, Huckleberry Finn, slavery racism, finn racist novel, setting novel, mark twain racist, racist novel, twain racist, main characters, finn racist, mark twain, jims character,
Approximate Word count = 1014
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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