Huck Finn
Despite objections in the past and present, students should be allowed to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it confronts many complex problems of language, humor, and conflict faced by Huck Finn. Taking this book off the shelves would be depriving the high school students who want to get a well-rounded education of a great literary work that is part of America’s history.
Twain uses language to show a point of racism in early America. He refers to the slaves as objects, like in chapter thirty-one when Huck says to himself “They’ve taken my nigger, which is the only nigger I’ve got in the world, and now im in a strange country and I ain’t got no property no more” (Twain 172). He refers to Jim directly as an item, worth money, and no more. Twain shows us that slavery was a big problem, and will always haunt American culture and is not something we should ever have to go back to. He may be rather blunt and open with how he does not hold back on the way he puts things, but this just makes him that much better of a writer.
Conflict is also a big part of the importance of the book. Huck goes through both internal and external conflict, but I believe that internal conflict is in more abundance throughout the book. Huck is constantly debating with himself about his morals and beliefs. All his life he is taught that blacks were just the help; they had no feelings and were nothing but property. Knowing this, toward the end of the book, Huck says to himself “It would be a thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was, as long as he’d got a slave…” (Twain 169). He has conflicted his beliefs and battles it throughout the rest of the book. It is a difficult concept to follow when the main characters state of mind is constantly changing, but it is a necessary skill needed to develop a full education in preparation for college.
Humor is used to lighten the harsh reality of our sad history. Some people call it crude and...