There are several reasons why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is worthy of debate and discussion in English classrooms. To begin with Huck Finn tells of the hardships different people were presented with, forming a novel that is reminiscent of the post Civil War era in the Mississippi region of the United States . The novel Huck Finn also throws out a word that is so loaded with hostility and hatred, that it is seen as a taboo in many parts of today’s society. The novel promotes a sense of frailty to people, the frailty that society has created from such an inappropriate word being used so many times in the novel. Both sides of the arguments deal with whether the novel is the "quintessential American novel" or if it is purely a piece of trash that has exceeded and begun to be defended by critics who haven't even read it at times.
5 comments:
Although I thoroughly agree with you that the novel should be taught in school and that it is worthy of discussion I am lslighty confused with why you believe so. I am mostly confused by your statement, "The novel Huck Finn also throws out a word that is so loaded with hostility and hatred, that it is seen as a taboo in many parts of today’s society." To me the fact that the n-bomb was dropped 213 times is a strong reasosn why the book should not be taught in schools. I can see how you may feel that this causes controversy, which created discussion and debates. But, to me thosre discussions are not worth it if the price to pay is the shame the overused word puts on many students.
I don't think this is the best choice of book to have students read, but I also think it does give insight on what that time period was like, which would teach students about the conflicts, in particular,race that occurred during this time. Do you think there are other books that would be more educational to read about during this time period?
Do you personally think that it is racist? You might want to elaborate on your last statmentabout the critics, that would be interesting.
Kaplan's claim of ironic humor is that Twain is using humor to make us "feel and laugh at the same time". He does not believe that it is racist because it is so extreme the way Twain is using the n-word and racist dialouge.
Read Arac twice, it helps
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