Huck Finn has been censored and banned in some places because many people consider it to be a racist book. Do you feel that Huck Finn is a racist book? Support your opinion by considering the following: the character of Jim, Huck's use of the "n-word", Huck and Tom's treatment of Jim, Huck's reaction to the news that Jim has run away.
53 comments:
I don't believe that Huck Finn is a racist book because I believe that Samuel Clemmens uses the "n-word" because that word was used often and it was just the way black people were treated back in that time. It wasn't supporting racism just telling it how it was.
Jim was a slave and so the Huck's reaction when he found out that Jim was a runaway was a natural reaction. Slaves were treated like animals and that is how they're portrayed in the book because the book is from the perspective of someone who is used to slaves.
I don't veiw Huck Finn as a racist book, the book takes place in a time when that was accepted and that's just how the people talked. Huck, in my opinion, treats Jim better then most would have in that time. Huck veiws Jim as a friend and uses the "n word" because thats all he'd been taught to call him.
I think that yes it could look like a racist book by the first glance of it.The first things you see is the constant n word and if you read about the treatment of the slaves.But this is how things were at that time and the author was against racism and was trying to get a point across.
-jenna mullane-
No I don't think that this book is racist. Many books deal with things that happen in the past, and to portray the past accurately you have to use the language and culture that the characters used. Also in the time period of Huck Finn the "n-word" wasn't affensive, it was an everyday word that many used in common language. Huck and Tom treated Jim the way most anyone would have treated a black runaway slave in those days. They didn't know any better, it was the way they were raised. So no I don't think Huck Finn is a racist book because it supports the time period.
I don't think that Huck Finn is a racist book. The "n-word" was accepted back when it was wrote and almost everyone used it because of slaverey. Although now some people may take it to be racist but thats only because of the way we use the "n-word". Huck isn't racist when he uses the "n-word" because he and Jim are friends, and Huck is protective of Jim.
In a way Huck Finn could be a racist book with the way the characters use their language. On the other hand, i wouldn't consider it a racist book jus because it doesn't focus on why Jim shouldn't be treated with respect or why he's not treated equal. In Huck Finn jus touches on it. Racism wouldn't be the plot summary of this book.
In some ways i think that the book is racist, but i think that it is necessary in the book in order to really understand what life was like in those days. When Huck uses the "n word" it isn't meant to offend anyone in present time, it is meant to show how common the use of that word was in Hucks time.
In those times, slavery was completely acceptable. The treatment of Jim was typical of this historical period. It is meant to teach the world how times have changed over the many years.
In my personal opinion i don't feel like this is a severly racist book. It is true that they do use racist names, but it follows the time period that it was in. People didn't know any better, and it was considered normal to call blacks by such names. For example when Huck uses the word he doesn't use it in a negative way, but just the same as any other normal word in a sentence. Jim's clothes and the way he talks is typical of a black slave. If they are a slave obviously they aren't going to have the best of clothes or the best grammar in the world, because they don't have the means to get it. This is like any other book that is specific in a certain time period. In this time period the things said and discribed are appropriate in the book.
I do not think that the book is a racsist book, it shows the views of the country at the time. Huck has been raised around a lot of rascist views, but he does not treat Jim in that way. The author uses the normal dialect and language of the time, this shows the state and mind set of the country, at one of its worst points.
In my opinion the book Huckleberry Finn is not a racist book. I can see where many people can get the feeling that it is because there are so many racist things in the story. The reason why the book isn't a racist book is that the motive of the writer Mark Twain is not trying to promote racism with the book but to show what racism really is and show how bad it is. The use of the "n" word in the book is nothing more than using the language used in that time to make it fit with the setting. Many people mistake it for racism. The treatment of Huck and Tom to Jim is usual for young boys to anyone and anything unusual or may be seen as racist are just the actions reflecting the time period and thats is what makes it authentic and fit the setting.
In my opinion huck finn is a non racist book. Even though the characters in the book use vulgar language towards Jim in the story, my thoughts are that Twain does this to show people how arrogant they are towards other races. When Jim runs away and huck finds him, huck knows that if people were to find out that he knew of Jim's where abouts he would get into some serious trouble. Huck promises to not tell anybody because of the close bond they have. So over all there is racism in the book but i think that the author uses the language he does purly to prove a point.The way that the author describes the black race, with all their riuals and superstitions we can tell that the story was written a long time ago. In todays society I dont believe that a book like this would even be allowed to be published, but the more I read of the book the more I see the authors real reason for the racial ideas.
Umm...I think this book can be seen as both racist and non-racist...some people can get offended easily and to them it could be racist. But one thing to consider is that the book is about a time in the past that dealt with this situation, the author is simply just telling a story according to a certain time in the past. The n word was common back then but the author isn't using it from himself. Therefore, it can't really be classified as a racist book...
I don't think that Huck Finn is a racist book because back in this time it was perfectly acceptable to say words like the n word. Huck Finn is just so used to the word being used that he says it out of habit. I don't think that Huck Finn really means anything by saying the n word. Since Jim was a slave, Huck Finn thought it was just a common thing to call Jim the n word. Mark Twain is just trying to portray the image of how life was back then when there were slaves. He is trying to give us a feel of Huck Finn's life and the time when he was alive.
Huck Finn isn't meant to be a racist book. The reason the "n-word" is used is that's how people used to speak in the time that this book is set. No one really thought of it as a racist remark. People back then would've been dumbfounded to realize that they were socializing with a runaway slave.
This book may also seem racist in the way that Jim, the runaway slave, is depicted. He is depicted as a person with no control, almost clown-like.
AT the time the story takes place in the book, there is a lot of racism do to slavery and the thought of inequality. The book itself is not racist because of this. The book just shows us what that time was like in our history. Huck would treat Jim better than most people would at the time, and he uses the "N-word" because that kind of language was "accepted" at the time.
I don't believe the book is racist because it portrays how things were im those times. Huck's reaction to Jim running away would be something like natural.Since Huck is a child he really doesn't know how to react like an adult to the situation, like turning Jim in. So Huck decides to keep it secret. In an adult situation we don't know what Huck would've done, he probably would have turned Jim into the authorities because of that time period and how African Americans were treated. Plus people take it to offense because of the n-word. I think it was just a point getting acroos as to say, "This is how it was." people can't change their past, and yes it is a harsh thing, but it's not racist because of it.
If someone were to skim the book and look at its use of the N word and the mistreatmant of Jim, it would seem like a very racist book. When you look deeper into the book you will find that the author is making fun of people who act this way. Once this is explained to you the book seems fine as long as the treatment and use of words does not become a belief of your own.
I believe that there is racism in the book, but I do not believe that Huck Finn is a racist book. The book was written in a time when the n-word was used frequently by everyone. The book does have some very racist comments and stereotypes, but Mark Twain wrote it like this on purpose because he was against racism.
Yes, in this time period their was a lot of racism and it does reflect in the novel, but racism is reflected in everyday life. When you read into context of the novel you'll discover that it's not racism, but everyday living and how they were raised
-Nathan Daniels
The Adventures of Huck Finn is not a racist book. It's expressing opionions on how people think back in the day. Yes it uses the "n-word" various times but nothing is to be thought of it. Considering the children are using the word, thus they don't understand the meaning of it. The adults on the other hand know what they are saying.
Jim is the main adult who uses the "n-word". When he is drunk he uses it carelessly because that was the term used for slaves back then. Not many country's had slavery, hence thats the reason they banned it for rascism. They didn't understand the history behind the term.
I believe that in a way Huck Finn was slightly racist. At the same time I think Mark Twain had the characters use racist language so much to show how ridiculous and wrong life was when this story took place. Instead of mocking black people by saying the n word I believe he was actually mocking the people who said it instead. Twain shows how ignorant and closed minded people were about other races by using this vulgar language by the way Huck and Tom talk to Jim.
I do not think that this book is a racist book. The book was written in a time that racism was widely used in America, and that Mark Twain uses this language to capture the image of this time and how the society treats people of another race.
I think that Huck ony uses the N-word because that is all he knows to call these people and has heard it his whole life without being told right or wrong.
I don't think that 'Huck Finn' is a racist book, as much as it is a book about making fun of racism. Twain was aware that the times were changing during the writing of this novel, and wanted to poke as much fun at this "dead" issue as he could.
Having said that, I am able to see why certain groups would take offense to this language, but those people need to realize that this book was written during a less...Politically correct time. Once we are able to realize that simple fact, this book will once again be able to reach it's long standing grandour.
I don't believe this title to be a racist novel. The use of the "N-word" was common talk in this point in history when blacks were highly segregated. Twain uses this language with his characters to show the uselessness of it. The author attemps to mock the racism that people see evident in the book. And like Haylee says, it was just from the perspective of a person who lived in that time period, but there seems to be a sarcastic twist thrown in. This is why i believe the main character is a young child.
Huck Finn could be thought of as a racist book, but I don't think it is. The fact that Huck uses the 'n-word' doesn't mean that the whole book is racist, or even that Huck is racist. Mark twain is simply trying to provide an accurate description of the time period in which this book takes place. As for the treatment of Jim by Huck and Tom, it goes back to how they were raised. They were raised to think they were 'superior' to slaves. It might come off as racist now, but the way they treat Jim is just the only way they know how.
I don't think that Huck Finn is a racist book. I believe that Mark Twain was just trying to portray Jim the way that was most realistic to that period in history. Even though the use of the "n-word" can often be thought of as profane, it was a common word during Huckleberry's life. I think that Twain did a good job in helping us better understand the vernacular of characters; the character's dialects sound very real. I don't believe that the author meant for the book to be racist in any way.
I don't think Huck Finn is a racist book. Yes, it does use the "n-word", but that's how they talked back then. It is historically accurate in my opinion. Also, Mark Twain uses characters to prove a point how ignorant racism is. Huck, for example, is shown many times to be an ignorant little boy that doesn't know too much about the world. He and Tom are whom mainly say the "n-word". The whole book is written from his perspective, so it shows that it's child-like to view someone to be lesser than yourself.
Huck Finn is not a racist book out of the fact that just because a book has racist things in them does not mean the book itself is supporting racism. When they say the "n-word" Mark Twain is simply using the vernacular of that time. He wants the reader to feel like they are in the 1800's so they can better understand the book. In so doing, the characters in the book will be racist because during that time most people were.
Huck Finn was a boy who grew up thinking that African Americans were of lesser quality and therefore thinking that caucasians owned them. So, when hearing that Jim had run off he was shocked because he thought that african americans were inferior so he felt Jim had broken a bond that had gone on forever. I believe Huck's way of thinking was of his own ignorance of what racism really is.
I do not believe that Huck Finn is a racist book. Although it is a very opinionated book in some ways through the dialect, and the treatment of Jim. Huck treats Jim with much more respect than many other white people would at the time that the book is set in. The use of the "n word" was a more common thing in that time. People did not use it if they were racist or not, almost everyone called African Americans that name. It was part of that time.
Huck Finn may be looked upon as a racist book to many. But the book as a whole is not racist, the author was just trying to, in a way, make a joke about how ridiculous things can be. It is more of a lesson of how things were back then, and what things happened to African Americans and how they were treated.
I believe Huck Finn can only be considered racist by a racist. The people that don't accept the accuracy of the language from that time period, don't respect history itself. Everything mentioned in Huck Finn that refers to the demeaning of blacks should be accepted because our society has moved on since then and there is no need to be fearful of it. Look at our President-elect. The character Jim is tormented by the boys but that is no different than how the boys treated anyone else. I believe if anything, Jim is viewed as a friend to the boys. Huck looks out for him when Jim runs away. I agree with Ryan Kopas, Huck uses the "n-word" because that is what he was taught growing up. Its historically accurate, not racist. The "author himself was an abolitionist".(Skibs)
Husk Finn isn't a racist book. everyone in that era spoke about african americans that way, it was the normal terminology used in that time, people just accepted it. How we talk today is accepted by other around us and influences them. Dialect and speech change over time and most people change with the time and begin to speak like others around them. When someone says "black" is that supposed to be racist? Maybe, it depends how society sees it and opinnions of how it's used by others.
I don't think Huck Finn is a racist book. I believe some of the characters in the book are racist, but most of the events in the book are a reflection of the times. On the flip side the book has many racist aspects. Yet, Mark Twain was against slavery and he might have used the book to show the hilarity of slavery supporters and racism in general.
Regardless of the book being racist or not I strongly disagree with banning of the book, hateful comments should not be kept away from schools. Learning about racism can help us overcome it and deal with the topic of race later in life.
I think that this book is not racist. The author uses the "n word" to show how the dialect was used back in this time.
Jim is a slave in this story. Like many other slaves, he was treated unfairly. Yes, this is racism, but the author wants to show how real life was in the past.
I think that this book isn't racist. I think it's more realism. This is how people acted back then, they said the N-word a lot, and said other racial things.It doesn't mean that it's racist. Racism is when a certain phrase or word has offended someone, and so far none of this book as offended me, so I dont belive that it's racism.
This book is not racist in the fact that it was common knowledge to use the word n---er. Huck used it like the many other people around the town back then and he was brought up hearing this kind of talk and that he doesn't know anything different or incorrect about it and the way that he is speaking.
I think that this book is racist in our time because we aren't used to the way things were back then. In the time of Huck Finn it was legal and very common to have slaves and use the "n word". I don't think it was written to offend anyone, but to show how things really were and the different lifestyles people had.
I believe that Huck Finn was written in a way to express and explain the way people spoke and acted back then. I don't think it was written with a racist tone or idea behind it.
Huck is too protective of Jim to be racist. He uses the 'n' word because that was the language he grew up with. Mark Twain used this language to help us understand the story and connect with it's characters.
I don't think that Huck Finn is meant to be racist. Mark Twain uses the "n-word" and portrays Jim the way he does because that's how things were back in his time and the language that was used. Twain wrote things as he knew them to be and tried to be accurate with the way things were back then and how African Americans were treated. They were slaves so they were treated poorly and lower than everyone else in society and it's not meant to be racist. That's just the way things were and Huck Finn is and accurate portrayl of that.
Huck Finn is not a racist book, even though it may seem that way. When Samuel Clemmens was writing the book he wanted to get across how African Americans were treated. Yes people were racist because most of them were brought up that way. When Huck realizes that Jim ran away he freaks out because he has been tought that he was a slave and was not equal to him, you can see that by the way Huck's dad treats african americans. When people used the n-word that was just what they said becasuse everyone said it and it wasn't considered bad.
Yes and no. No because when it was written it probably was not considered racist to say the "n-word" but in todays world it is considered racist.
I don't think that Huck Finn is meant to be a racist book. I think that maybe at first glance it seems like it would be because of the use of the "n-word" but I don't think that the author meant it that way. Not only was it commonly used back then but I also think that the use of the word was neccesary in order to truly understand how badly slaves were treated back then.
I do not believe that Huck Finn is a racist book. When the n-word is used, it's used in a way that is common for that time. It does not have a bad connotation. Over time, it has evolved into a "bad word."
Huck and the others treat Jim like they treat any other friend; color is not an issue.
I do not think this book was intended to be racist. The author was simply portraying Huck's life as it was back then. Huck Finn was not written and directed toward any one audience, it just the author conveying a child's life at that time period.
Huck was using the "n-word" just because he doesn't know any better. That word was used freely back then. But Huck had treated Jim just as he would anyone else, like Jim was a person, just another buddy.
I don't think Huck Finn is racist book because if Mark Twain wanted to portray the book accurately he needed to use the proper vernacular of that era. it doesn't mean he's trying to make it sound racist, just explaining how it actually was. Also, Huck and Tom only treated Jim that way because that was how they were taught to treat him and the other slaves.
Those trying to fing a plot will be shot! There is no racism in a ignorant boy saying what he thinks in ways he was told how to speak. the reason it is considered racist is that times have changed. it was acceptable to use the word nigger in everyday language. slavery was acceptable in half the u.s. for that matter. time change and so do views. the only constant is the past.
I don't think Huck Finn is a racist book. Today if people still talked in the way the dialect is in the book, then yea people would be called racist but at that time, it was a natural thing to use the "N" word, for example. African Americans were still slaves and used during this time. I don't see anything wrong in the dialect in this book. People need to understand and learn how things were in the past. Books, songs, and other literature portray the past. Huck Finn to me is not a racist book, just another peice of lierature that portrays the past.
"Huck Finn" is not a racist book. It is a book written in a racist setting though. The author wanted to accurately portray the life and customs of the period. Huck's use of the "n-word" shows how acceptable the word was then. Huck's treatment of Jim also shows how it was an acceptable custom.
How the author portrays the character of Jim is again, just how slaves were thought of. Sure it's steriotypical, but that what everyone else in the story came across as too.
I don't believe that Huck Finn is a racist book. I believe that this book uses the "n-word" to show that the word was commonly used. There use of the "n-word" back then would be like our use of the word "prep" now, Because it's just a steriotype.
I don't like the word, But, I do understand that this is just the way they talked back then.
There treatment of Jim is a little odd to me. But, same as the use of the "n-word" that was just how people were back then. They treated Jim as if he was an animal.Some people today still treat other races with disrespect, But, that disrespect is looked more downly upon now than it was back in Hucks time.
I do not feel that Huck Finn is a racist book. The use of the'n-word'
was common when this book was taking place. It just flows with the setting and the way people treated slaves back then. Also, I think Huck just has a natural reactin to Jim Running away.
I believe that the racism in Huck Finn can be considered unnecessary in some aspects, although I do agree with the use and context of the racism in this story. The author of this story used various slang terms and descriptions to get the reality across about the way things were. For example, the use of the "n-word" was just an everyday vocabulary word in that vernacular in that given time period. Today, if someone were to use the "n-word", it would be a huge controversy.
Jim was treated like a usual African American in that period of time.
In that time period, slavery was completely acceptable. This book is meant to show the differences of their time and ours, and how they have changed and differed.
I don't think Huck Finn is a racist book. Slavery is in our history. It's part of the past and that is how things were. They did use the "n-word" and people still do today. So it's not really fair to call it a racist book and ban it from schools. I think that is a little extreme because it's just giving the word so much more "power." Huck uses that word because that is how he was raised in that time and it was normal for him. I think Huck cares about Jim but he is aware that in those days slaves were considered property. So he was worried that Jim had run away and knew he would be in a lot of trouble if they found him. They both would be.
I don't believe this book to be racist because the way the boys treat Jim is in the book to show what things were like back then accurately. It shows how wrong things were back then and how we as a country have changed for the better. I don't believe Huckleberry Finn was racist I just think that was how he was raised and he didn't know any better.
I don't believe Huck Finn is a racist book. I think they use the "n word" because that is just how they spoke back in those days and Huck wasnt rasied to know any better. I also think that even though Jim is a slave and Huck doesnt treat him as well as he should, Huck still treats him better than most people back in that day would.
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