Should Huck Finn Stay In Schools Essay

827 Words4 Pages
Why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Should Stay in Schools "We could ignore the book, but then we're ignoring history.” (Roberts). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a highly beneficial novel which needs to be included in high school curriculum because it is not harmful to students, it is highly praised and defended by experts of various races, and it encourages classroom discussion about sensitive, frank topics. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn causes no harm to students. This novel was written in a time of slavery, when African-Americans were not treated as people, but as property (Twain). When Huckleberry Finn is read in a classroom setting, there is absolutely no harm being done to students; while the novel does use derogatory terms, it is set in a time when such language is…show more content…
“[African-American author] Booker T. Washington noted how Twain ‘succeeded in making readers feel genuine respect for “Jim”’ and pointed out that Twain, in creating Jim’s character, had “exhibited his sympathy and interest in the masses of the negro people.” (Salwen). It is not only whites that defend the novel (Chadwick). Experts understand that the language used in the book applies to the time period in which it was written, and obviously does not apply to people today. Slavery no longer exists; therefore, the use of the word “nigger” has decreased exponentially. “Nigger” is not used to casually describe African-Americans today; there is no need for an controversy over it. Even the African-American author of “Why Huck Finn Belongs in Classrooms,” written in 2000, believes that Twain “...used his writing to work through issues of race for himself and his society…” and feels that he “gets it.” (Chadwick). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not only praised by individuals such as Ronald Reagan (“Born to Trouble:...”), but also authors like Ernest Hemingway and Booker T. Washington (Classic
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