No Racism in "Huckleberry Finn"

Paper Summary:

This paper provides some historical background and relates that it was only years after the publishing of this book, as the Civil Rights movement took root in America, that "Huckleberry Finn" suddenly became a controversial work of fiction. The paper explains that the book is considered racist by many who object to the word 'nigger' and who believe that Jim is presented in a way that is stereotypical and degrading. The paper goes on to show that in fact, much of what is considered racist is actually Twain shining light on injustices that actually existed at the time. The paper contends that to read "Huckleberry Finn" as a racist novel is to completely miss the point.

From the Paper:

"Although slavery ended in this country almost a century and a half ago, the United States is still grappling with the horrible legacy of bigotry, which the practice of slavery bred. This is particularly true in the South. If slavery is still an issue for us today, one can imagine that it was still a controversial issue at the time Mark Twain was writing Huckleberry Finn, only twenty years after slavery had ended. However, while we may find the book shocking today because Twain dares to use the "N word" the book was shocking at the time it was published because Twain dared to treat the black character of Jim with such humanity. Scholars such as Nicholas Wolfson, Jocelyn Chadwick-Joshua, Jesse Jarnow, and Carl F. Wieck agree that Twain should be commended not condemned for what he was trying to say with this book."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Goodman, A. "FBI Whistleblower: White Supremacists Are Major Domestic Terrorist Threat." Democracy Now 2005 June: 13http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/13/145217.
• Chadwick-Joshua, Jocelyn. The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Huckleberry Finn. Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press, 1998.
• Jarnow, Jesse. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Race in America. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2004.
• Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Complete Text. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
• Wieck, Carl F. Refiguring Huckleberry Finn. Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2004.

More papers on No Racism in "Huckleberry Finn":

• Analytical Essay # 17035 : "Racism in "Huckleberry Finn"
• Analytical Essay # 42555 : "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
• Analytical Essay # 124851 : "Social Satire in "Huckleberry Finn"

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