Essay About Mark Twain And Huck Finn Racist

Is Huck Finn Racist?
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Erasmo Salgado
Eileen Babbs
Major American Literature
11/26/11
Is Huck Finn racist?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is about a boy named Huck Finn
and his fellow negro friend Jim going on a long adventure through the Mississippi river on a
raft trying to escape and find their freedom. Some critics think this book should be banned
because it contains many racial words that are very offensive to African Americans. People
who agree that this book should be banned should know that Mark Twain is actually writing
about freedom and the quest of freedom and not being racial to Black people.
This novel shouldnt be considered as racist because Mark Twain is helping us explain
and understand the meaning of the story when it was written. Critics think Huck is a young
ignorant kid who is racist and teases Jim throughout the story because of his race. He does
treat and teases Jim, sometimes pretty bad, but he starts changing and respecting him and
treating him like an ordinary person. Huck becomes more connected and treats Jim like a
friend. He says, ” we catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off
sleepiness “(75). You can understand very clearly that Huck is having a good time with Jim.
Mark Twain explains to us that Huck and Jim are becoming friends and start having a better
connection. This shows Huck isnt considered a racist person because he is having a great time
with Jim even though he is not white.
Another perfect example Mark Twain gives us is when Huck says, ” I knowed he was
white inside”(290). In the beginning of the story he brought up to believe that African
Americans are only useful as slaves and dont deserve human rights. However, he then
realizes that Blacks are no different then whites and deserve to be free because when he was
with Jim, he noticed