Donnielle Gray Mrs.

Gonzales Pre-AP English I April 11, 2012 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Censorship Every year children are exposed to the harsh language and actions of the world around them, but many students are even more disturbed by the lack of separation in the books that their teachers require them to read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is just a book, but it is the impact of the racist speech that makes African-Americans around the country cringe with disgust. The controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should be banned to future English class readers due to the intense racism displayed by the characters language, attitudes, and action toward slaves in order to protect the young readers from prejudice. Throughout the book, Mark Twain used rasict language toward Negros living during that time period. Twain starts the book of by establishing the bigoted views on freed slaves Huck'a father has, I say to the people why aint this nigger put up at auction and sold?-thats what I want to know (Twain 27). This comment exhibits the foreboding energy that intertwined itself in to the weak-willed minds of the 1830s. African-Americans were considered lower than dirt, so much that people in the book Twain created didnt even think twice when Negros were killed: We blowed out a cylinder-head.

Good gracious! anybody hurt? Nom. Killed a nigger. Well, its lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt(Twain 32). As the conversation goes on in the book, many readers can't believe that a human life can be disragered so lightly. The dialect is so atrocious that teachers lamented the fact they no
longer felt justified in assigning either of Twains boy books because of the hurtful n-word(Bily 78). The book is questioned to only confirm or advance ideas people have about race (Censorship History Sova). Not only did Twain degrade African-American verbully, he also did it through the character's action and attitudes. They were believed to have the mental capibility of juvenile children. African-American author Ralph Ellison noted that Hucks friendship with Jim demeaned the stature of black males, because the adolescent Huck is portrayed as equal or superior to the adult Jim in decision-making capability ("Censorship Histroy" Sova) This point being easily portrayed as Huck displays his indecesion towards helping Jim. Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most freeI got to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead. (Twain, 88)" As the story progressed and Jim's character expressed feelings and thoughts, Huck, instead of acknowledging Jim as a real person, explains his behavior on the "white inside of him" (Twain 208) . Due to the extensive amount of predudice material that is being displayed throughout the book, many organizations, including the NAACP, are protesting that the book be banned from all New York high school reading lists until it can be censored for younger viewers. Many delegates believe that the use of the n-word repeatly in such a praised book that it would open the gates to authors to write racial slurs and profenity in their own books. An article by Harris stated that "some believe it gives people license to use the n-word and feel comfortable with it" ("Finn's

Tales" Wright) Students, preferably African-American, have other issues that are beginning to be apparent. In 2004, an African-American student in Renton, Washington, complained to school officials that the novel degraded her and her culture. The novel was not required reading in the school system, but it appeared on a supplemental list of approved books." As these complaints became known to school boards, many rekconized the controversy that could be created as time moved on. Miami Dade Junior College in Florida decided to remove the text from the required reading list when they found out the the dialogue in the book upset many black students attending their college. In conclusion, based on the evidence surrounding the subject matter The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned from all public school reading list. The offensive dialogue that pulls the reader out of the book, continues to be a problem with pupubescent children. The situations in the book that strip away the humanity of the black slaves of that time still strikes a nerve with organizations that support African-American rights. As more students and parents flinch at the poor manner that this is being taking care of the readers go back to the grueling world that are forced to read daily.