For decades, the idea of censorship has been an ongoing controversy in society debating on if it is acceptable to change an author’s intended diction in a text. While it is evident that in writing, texts are often censored for their explicit language in order to preserve the peace of the novel, regardless of its intended audience. Censorship is known as the act of suppressing or editing a part of a text to make it more acceptable towards a certain audience or part of society. When considering the education of minors, the ongoing controversy involves this following idea: is it fair to edit an author’s work to easier appeal to minors or would it be easier to completely ban the book from libraries and classrooms? This controversy is relevant towards Mark Twain, a world-famous author well-known for his novels titled The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huck Finn).
As stated by an English professor at Texas State University, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be recognized as “the most famous, most beloved, and most controversial novel featuring a prominent black character and written by a white author” (Tally Jr. 97). As this novel was written in 1884, it is significant to consider that Twain was writing during a time of extreme discrimination and hatred against the African American community — a time in history also known as the Jim Crow Era. With this in mind, it is correct to assume that the use of the word “nigger” was a common part of
Many books around the world have been banned because they are offensive. One example is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel about the journey of a thirteen-year-old boy named Huck, who fabricates his own death to run away with an escaped slave named Jim. The two voyage in a raft along the Mississippi River to gain their individual freedom. In addition, Huck gains a new understanding about humanity. Huck Finn has been creating great controversy on both sides of the argument: to ban or to keep in the school curriculum. Currently “much debate has surrounded Mark Twain’s Huck Finn since its publication in 1885, but none has been more pervasive, explosive, and divisive than that surrounding the issue on race”
Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time.
Although many believe in keeping Mark Twain 's original print, many also that replacing the ‘N-word’ may help the book be more approachable to schools. Having no intentions in replacing the book completely with the new edited version, the publishers want to create an alternative for those who refuse to teach the book due to its language. The publishers aim are at schools who already banned the book, giving them the
“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” this is what fellow writer had to say about this classic novel. Still, this novel has been the object of controversy since it was published more than 150 years ago. Some people argue that Huckleberry Finn is a racist work, and that the novel has no place in a highschool classroom. This feeling is generated because a main character in the story, Jim, and other slaves are referred to many times as “niggers.” When Mark Twain wrote this book, he was striving to show the general public that society was wrong in the past, that the way white people thought black people were less than human was a wrong viewpoint. The
When Samuel Langhorne Clemens first published his story, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was criticized severely. On top of that, the book was banned from libraries and schools alike. The book was thought to be a bad influence on children because it represents the breaking of the law as moral, it recommends disobedience and defiance on the part of young people, it portrays churchgoers as hypocritical, and the most admirable characters in the book habitually lie and steal and loaf (Johnson XII). In this day and time, though, the book has become required reading for many schools, and is found in almost every library in the country. Why has there been a change in attitude
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic written by Samuel Clemens under the pen name mark Twain. The novel is centered around a young boy named Huckleberry Finn and a runaway slave named Jim during the 1800’s. The issue of slavery and the use of the term “nigger’ is the focus point of many critics scrutiny and the reason they cringe when they read the book. They seem to be scared of the past and want to tuck it away instead of addressing it head on and getting it out of the way. Parents and school officials want to keep it away from their kids and not teach it in the classroom.
Ernest Hemingway once said, “all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain, called Huckleberry Finn:” However, Huck Finn has had its share of controversy. There has been an ongoing debate to whether or not schools should continue to teach Huck Finn because of the obvious racial components and the constant use of the word “nigger”. This word has evolved to be very hurtful and very sensitive to African-Americans and the constant repetition of this word in the novel causes teachers and students alike to be uncomfortable. A southern publishing company has
The history of the word “nigger” is surrounded with controversy and hardships. Mark Twain wrote the satiristic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn post Civil War with an abolitionist tone that originally got it banned. Now the classic American novel is controversial for its use of the “n-word” over 219 times. The book should be taught in its original form as Twain wrote it because his word choice has a purpose both in history and in modern times. Throughout the book there are moments of progress and setbacks that all serve to demonstrate just how complex and multi-layered the idea of slavery and racism really is.
When looked up in the dictionary “Nigger” can be defined as a name for a black or dark skinned person. It is just a word and can be taken in many ways. Some people find this word to be contemptuous when it is said by a white person or someone of a different race than African American. How can a word be racist based on the race of the person that said it? If two African Americans were to say this word to each other than no offense would be taken, but it would be very “disrespectful” if the color of skin were to be changed on one of the people. I do not believe that “Huckleberry Finn” is a racist novel just because of the terminology used.
Nigger, for years now people have discussed the censorship of the word in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It has been brought to discussion many times whether nigger should remain in the book or not. In fact to make the book more kid friendly the publishing organization, NewSouth Books, has created a censored edition which has abolished all 219 uses of the word. However, this is completely outrageous, and has completely expunged what made the book. By removing the word nigger, you’re taking away what makes the novel so great. NewSouth Books shouldn’t remove the word nigger from the book for many reasons such as; the removal of the author’s choices that Huck makes, and it removes so much of the reality of the times back then.
Many novelists in today’s society have the growing responsibility of censoring their work, ultimately loosing their freedom of expression. Canada is no different from other countries who have begun the long list of “banned and challenged classic novels.” Most of the Canadian population can remember studying Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, though children today will never have the opportunity and privilege to learn from these famous titles. These books contribute to an
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious.
In the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, enslaved men try to break free from their slave owners as they sail down the long windy Mississippi River. Mark Twain, the author, wrote this book because he wanted to portray the American south during the pre-civil war era. This book revolves around multiple themes, and styles such as Natural life through the freedom of spirit and slavery regarded issues. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain used the setting of enslaved men floating down the river in 1854 as a true story to show what really happened to enslaved people who broke away, which further examines how people broke away and became free as the conflicted characters Jim and Huck sail down the Mississippi.
“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” (Twain, ix) Mark Twain opens his book with a personal notice, abstract from the storyline, to discourage the reader from looking for depth in his words. This severe yet humorous personal caution is written as such almost to dissuade his readers from having any high expectations. The language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is completely “American” beyond the need for perfect grammar. “Mark Twain’s novel, of course, is widely considered to be a definitively American literary text.” (Robert Jackson,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain Mark Twain's, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, is a story told from the eyes of the young Tom Sawyer. The story takes place in the small rustic town of St. Petersburg Missouri. Tom Sawyer is the main character of the book. Tom is an imaginative young man who always seems to be getting into trouble.