Essay on Huckleberry Finn

I think people who say the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is trash are often times ignorant to the book entirely. Huckleberry Finn provides a strong sense of realism, it allows students to think on their own, it’s challenging to read through, and most refutes against it have little to no relevance. Toni Morrison said “The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn is that it is the argument it raises.”

When people go to school, they should be taught the truth– not sugar coated. Banning Huckleberry Finn from students in high schools is doing just that-- sugar coating reality. A scholar from ‘Born to Trouble’ mentioned when Mark Twain wrote the book in 1876, it was around the time racism expanded. Another interesting note in ‘Born to Trouble’ said that when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he had slaves with him. It should be clear to the readers why Twain chose to use the ‘N’ word so often; and the reason I conclude with this bit of information- also said in ‘Born to Trouble’- is that he was trying to bring the novel into a more realistic state.

Twain showed how stupid and unexplainable racism is. Near the end of the novel, Twain wrote an interesting comment made by Aunt Sally. Huck was telling her that a black man died and Aunt Sally said she was glad nobody got hurt. It is not stated directly, but when the reader sees this passage they can’t help but laugh. It seems too pathetic and unbelievable that people could be so close minded and racist toward a man of darker skin. Without reading the book, that reaction from the reader could not have developed because in order to gain that understanding of the passage, one has to grow closer to Jim’s character. The argument about using the ‘N’ word is therefore irrelevant because the context which it was used in was not that of racism but realism.

Furthermore, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn forces the reader to think on a level higher than the average reader. Similar to the comment made by Aunt Sally, another interesting quality of the book is how the reader has to look into what Mark Twain was trying to get across in his writings without actually saying what he wanted. At the time the book was written it was highly uncommon for a book that was unfavorable toward society to be published. For this reason, Twain used symbolism to get his views across to the world. I think -based on the information I obtained from ‘Born to Trouble’, discussions in class, and my own response to the book- he allowed Huck Finn to travel along the river with Jim in order that society would have no foothold over how they reacted to one another.

As the story went on, and as society’s grasp on the characters thoughts began to fade, it became clear how different a white man can look at a man of color once society left the picture. Toni Morrison, a lady who read Huckleberry Finn four times and wrote a criticism on the book, said “If the runaway Huck discovered on the island had been a white convict with protective paternal instincts, none of this would work, for there could be no guarantee of control and no games-playing nonsense concerning his release at the end.” She later said, “For Huck, Jim in a father-for-free.” I think that brings up a good point; that in order for Huck to really look at Jim as a person, as a father figure, he had to first, have no real basis for what a father should be-- because his father was a drunk, and second, to not have a firm hold on what society tells people is right and wrong. Furthermore, Twain showed the change made in Huck -once society wasn’t always there anymore- when he had Huck rip the letter of confession to Aunt Sally up because he cared for Jim.

I think the river represented a freedom of self-thought; the shore represented a life with society constantly edging in on a persons right to its own opinion. Others may disagree but that is the beauty in the way Mark Twain wrote the book. It is entirely up for debate- and for that reason- the reader is forced to think on a higher level and has to try to decipher the symbolism behind the events because the point he was trying to get across was not written directly. One thing Twain did write directly about his purpose was in the Notice, which said: “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.” More over, Mark Twain knew, beforehand, the novel would be controversial because of its content. Just as the shore edges against the river, society edges against peoples thoughts- and for this reason Mark Twain voiced that in the beginning of his book.

“You don’t know me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,’ but that ain’t no matter,” Huck said to kick off The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain wrote the novel in a way that, again, displayed realism to it’s time. A fair share of the language used in the novel shaped that of an uneducated person. The use of the ‘N’ word in the novel was also true to its time and gave the reader a better feeling as to what society was like and the influence it had on the people. Toni Morrison said, “...when scenes and incidents swell the heart unbearably precisely because unarticulated and force an act of imagination almost against the will.” The reader of the book has to think on a higher level because it is challenging to read. It should be a required reading book in high schools because it does force us readers to think about what we are reading and also to read between the lines.

A common argument used in ‘Born to Trouble’ against the book was how white students are more likely to use the ‘N’ word after having read it over 200 times in the book. Some good insight into that was made by a scholar, seen in ‘Born to Trouble,’ who said: “It only causes things if there are things waiting to happen.” Toni Morrison said “My fury at the maze of deceit, the risk of personal harm that a white child is forced to negotiate in a race-inflected society, is dissipated by the exquisite uses to white Twain puts that maze, that risk.” Again, I think the argument about using the ‘N’ word is therefore irrelevant because the context which it was used in was not that of racism but realism.

Toni Morrison said “The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn is that it is the argument it raises.” The fruits the novel produces are more advantageous than the problems it arises. High school students should be required to read it because it provides a strong sense of realism, it allows students to think on their own, its challenging to read through, and most arguments against it have little to no relevance. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is not worthless material that is to be disposed of, as the overall Americans critical reaction proved it to be in 1885. I think The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the quintessential novel of its time and maybe even of this time.