‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ is a literature work by prominent writer Mark Twain. The book depicts the dark part of American History via the adventures of a young white boy Huck Finn and a runaway slave Jim. Despite using very strong racial terminologies to reflect the American’s History, there is no better classic book that describes the country’s slave era than Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book offers a humorous adventure that instills students with knowledge about customs, language, and culture during the slave era. Though seemingly beneficial to the students, schools across the country have removed the book from their courses. They have banned the book in fear that its strong language and ‘racial’ content may adversely affect the kids. This has raised a concern as to whether the book should be taught in school. Therefore, this paper elucidates as to why the book deserves to be incorporated into the school course rather than discarding it.
Firstly, as Sanford (2011) states, the book uses ‘the n-word’ more than 200 times to refer to Jim. Additionally, the book uses racial slur ‘injun’ to describe Native Americans.
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Despite the fact that today ‘the n-word’ is very offensive and hurtful to the people, back then ‘the n-word’ was a common name that was used to refer to black people and carried no offensive or hurtful message. The reason why Mark Twain used the word is that he had no knowledge that in future it would be a derogatory term. His particular choice of words was probably not meant to offend anyone rather it was just a demonstration of the reality of that time. As described by Alan Gribben, English professor at Auburn University, it is shameful that such words act as a hindrance for students to enjoy reading the sharpness of their social critique and greatness of the literature work ( Sanford, 2011) .
Secondly, the book should be taught in schools since it is a great piece of history. Other than presenting the racial history during the era of slavery, the book also depicts the way life is generally. Using the eyes of the Huck Finn, the book shows a detailed picture of what the North and the South were like during the slave era. With such historical representations, it allows a clear comparison of a current state with the past. For instance, according to Wilder(1995), Deborah Petky, the education director at the Mark Twain house, argues that teaching the book in school cannot happen without teaching the history of racism, slavery, and what African-American underwent during the Twain’s era.
Thirdly, the book advocates for friendship, a crucial virtue for students. This is well depicted through the friendship between Huck Finn, a white boy, and Jim, a black runaway slave. Throughout the book, Huck Finn faces a dilemma on whether to accept Jim in. With time he is able to see Jim from a perspective of a human being who has emotions just like him rather than a slave. For instance, when Huck hears Jim crying about his family when they are in the canoe, he thinks to himself that Jim cared for his folk's same way the white did to their family members. For that reason, the book teaches students that everybody is equal in society. Therefore, the efforts by Allan Gribben to sanitize and revive the book are the right move. Instead of ‘the n-word’ the use of alternative version, that is, slaves. As Abramson states, Gribben is making an effort to go past an emotional tripwire (Norris, 2011). Additionally, teaching about race without necessary touching the ugly parts is advocated by the new sanitized book.
Lastly, the book should be taught in schools since it encourages tolerance and understanding (Wilder, 1995). Paul Miller, an English teacher, advocates for the novel to be taught in school since it is a way of helping students understand and remember. It makes students responsible for themselves and others (Wilder, 1995). Therefore, the best way is to explain to the parents that in the course of teaching the teachers will ensure that no student is hurt by anything; rather they will be equipped with the virtues of tolerance and understanding each other.
Overall, the book is a literal masterpiece of that depicts the American’s History during the Mark Twain’s time. This period is when the use of ‘the n-word’ to refer to black people was rampant and carried no offensive or hurtful message. Other than the way critics view it as offensive and hurtful, the book advocates for virtues such as friendship , tolerance, and understanding. Thus, teaching the book in schools will be beneficial to the students.
References
Sanford, O. (2011). 'Huck Finn' Controversy Much Ado About Nothing . Memphis, TN: Commercial Appeal.
Wilder, T. (1995). "Huckleberry Finn" Teaching Controversy. All Things Considered (NPR) .
Norris, M. (2011). Edition Of 'Huckleberry Finn' Causes Uproar. All Things Considered (NPR) .
