Should Huckleberry Finn Be Taught In Schools Essay

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a worldwide phenomenon for its literary excellence but not all readers agree with this. Critics say that Huck Finn should not be read in schools due to its use of the n-word. Huckleberry Finn is about a young boy who is an orphan running away from his foster parents. Huck Finn’s foster parents have a slave whose name is Jim. Jim is also trying to run away because Miss Watson and Widow Douglas are trying to sell him into the deep south for money. Huck Finn however did not know this while trying to run away. Huck and Jim both end up running away and soon ending up on the same island. Together they escape the small town of St. Petersburg and start their adventures travelling North to get Jim to freedom. …show more content…
Critics say that nigger should be replaced with the word, slave. If Twain was to change nigger to slave it would take away the entire meaning. One can not take out everything that is offensive in a curriculum because the majority of people can get offended by a vast array of different topics. While it is important to respect feelings and positions of others, it is also important to keep classical literature in an English curriculum. It is also necessary to foster a positive perspective around Twain’s word choice and to encourage effective, mature discussion. According to the Huckleberry Finn and the n-word debate, David Bradley says, “He makes all students say the nigger and then says yes it says nigger and that they can now begin talking about the book.” (Bradley, 4). Furthermore, the word nigger can not be replaced with the word slave because they are not synonyms; just as not all nigger’s were slaves. An anonymous student commented on “Teaching Huck Finn Without Regret." saying that as a student the use of the word nigger was not that big of a deal and also thinks that it represents what life was like back then.” (Anonymous, 1). Many students could easily share this opinion regarding the use of the
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