HUCK FINN ESSAY

Submitted By marilyntaveras84
Words: 1542
Pages: 7

FCA’s Marilyn Taveras
1.At least 1 outside source English Essay
2. 5 Huck Finn Quotes April 26, 2014
3.Clear Precision Ms. Wedegartner
4.Clear Beginning,Middle & End
5.Conventions

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has become a controversial issue throughout the American education systems. There is much controversy over whether the novel should be taught in American high schools. Some believe that the novel promotes racial attitudes, while others see it as a good depiction of life in the 1800s. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught in American High Schools because it is a good example of inter-racial relationships.In the novel, Huckleberry Finn comes in contact with different types of people. In the story he dealt with violent and uneducated characters like his father, as well as welcoming and generous characters like the Phelps. Throughout the novel Huck formed relationships with the different types of people that he met on his journey. When Huck befriends such a diverse group of people, he demonstrates a way to overlook the preconceived opinion that exists in the world. Twain allows readers to get to know the characters of his novel. Their good and bad qualities are displayed quite equally. Despite the fact that the novel was written in a time of great racial discrimination, and despite the existing prejudices that are acknowledged, Twain's writing style discriminates against no particular group. The relationship Huck forms with Jim is one of the strongest in the novel. Jim is a run-away slave who goes along on Huck's adventures, in hope of gaining his freedom. At that point in time it was considered morally wrong to help out a run-away slave. Huck felt otherwise, and began to view Jim as a real person. One of the main themes in Huck Finn is friendships. " Now we'll start his band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood" (Twain Ch 2 pg 10). Tom has some pretty intense ideas about friendship, too-like the idea that you have to swear your loyalty to your friends in blood and also offer up your family as collateral. As the story continued more insight is displayed regarding Jim's life and feelings. Jim, who tended to show great amounts of compassion and concern for Huck, became Huck's friend. Not once in the novel did Twain suggest that befriending Jim caused any harm for Huck. Huck took great risks for Jim, and those risks demonstrated the loyalty that strings from friendship. This book goes in depth about how friendship is important but it also shows that in a friendship you have to overcome certain obstacles. Many teachers and faculty members lack to realize that besides the fact that the book has some unpleasant language such as the word “nigger”one has to look past it. If teachers restrict the ability for their students to learn more about the way the slaves use to be treated and how society truly is. So it uses the word "nigger" a lot. It would be pretty strange if a book set in that time and place did not. What one does not seem to see why its use of what we now think of as racist language is a big deal. People need to be able to deal with the fact that America has a racist past and not freak out when confronted with the evidence of that past. Huck Finn makes people think why should slavery exsit in the first place?" Well, it's a blame ridicklous way, en I doan' want to hear no mo' 'bout it. Dey ain' no sense in it.""Looky here, Jim; does a cat talk like we do?"( Twain Chp 14 pg 39/40) . Jim can't believe that people speak different languages all over the world, since we're all the same. Jim is basically asking "but if we're all the same, why are some of us enslaved? And why doesn't he seem to make that conceptual leap?" Reading Huck Finn creates questions and thoughts in our heads