Black Perspectives on "Huckleberry Finn"

Paper Summary:

This paper is a review of the book "Satire or Evasion" Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn" which questions whether Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" should be taught in school. It looks at what the various authors have to say about racial stereotypes and derogative language used in the novel. The paper critiques the ideas of each writer and offers personal opinions about the content and theories of each essay.

From the Paper:

"The book is a composite of critical essays on Twain's Huckleberry Finn, written by black scholars. The focus is the issue of racial stereotypes. The introduction, written by the editors, states that "Negroes were people to Mark Twain, people who had been wronged by his forbears and were unjustly treated by his contemporaries" (3). It also points out that he tried to compensate for this in various ways, including paying the college tuition of at least one black student. Despite these facts, the introduction asserts that Twain uses "eye dialect" for the speech of the black characters of the book, but not for the white, and that this technique exaggerates their ignorance. The authors also address the use of the word "nigger" and its possible negative effects on young readers."

More papers on Black Perspectives on "Huckleberry Finn":

• Book Review # 103232 : "Huck Finn and Jim: An Influential Journey"
• Essay # 138030 : "The Motivations of Huckleberry Finn when Dealing with Others"
• Book Review # 73675 : "Huckleberry Finn And Local Color"

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