Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been banned in some schools due to it's liberal use of the N word. Was Mark Twain racist? Why did he use that word so often in his novel?
The truth of the matter is that Mark Twain was not any more racist than anyone else of his time - which is not to say that he wasn't racist at all. He wrote a novel that portrayed a certain time period in America, and in order to portray that time period accurately, he used the language that people back then would have used. To censor the novel or to ban it completely does a disservice to students. In order to get the full effect, the novel must be read as Mark Twain intended.
Mark Twain is considered the father of modern literature, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is thought to be his masterpiece. To ban or censor the novel would be an insult to its brilliant author.
Keep in mind, we are not condoning the use of such derogatory language. If anything, this novel should show you exactly how demeaning and dangerous that kind of bigotted thinking can be. Mark Twain causes his audience to empathize with Jim. The audience wishes for Jim's freedom as much as he does. Twain forces us to realize that people are people, no matter what color their skin is. We will not lose sight of this message just because the novel uses period-appropriate language.
I hope you enjoy reading all of the adventures that Huck and Jim go through in Twain's novel. Happy reading!
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