Huck Finn Analysis

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First of all, Huck Finn should be taught in schools because it brings up the history of important social issues. During chapter thirty-two of the book, there was an accident that took place in which the cylinder-head of a boat blew up, and as Huck was telling Aunt Sally about it, she asked if anyone had been hurt. Huck had said: "No'm. Killed a nigger." Aunt Sally had replied with: "We'll it's lucky, because sometimes people do get hurt." (p.230) Aunt Sally's reaction indicates that she believes a black man is not a man at all, and that his death was meaningless. The society Huck and Aunt Sally lived in during this time was a society that doesn’t recognize a black man’s death as anything important and it sheds light on the issue of racism and the way in which it was a normal part of people’s everyday life back then. …show more content…
During a long rant of his, he conveys his distaste for them by saying, "...when they told me there was a state in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote again...I says to the people, why ain't this nigger put up at auction and sold?" (p.39-49) This is a perfect example of the way people viewed blacks as property, not people, and how the idea of slave auctions were a normal thing back then. It also gives readers an idea of how racism worked during this time, and how even uneducated people like Pap think it’s okay to criticize a well-educated African American man for being able to vote, just because of his skin color. It’s also important to point out here that Twain purposely uses the n-word multiple times, not to offend, but to make people understand that racism was not only a huge part of America’s history, but of Americans’ everyday lives as well. Along with slavery and racism, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also brings attention to the culture of America during this