Huck Finn: The Twisting Tides Of Portrayal - Racism Essay -- essays re

In recent years, there has been increasing discussion of the seemingly racialist ideas expressed by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In some cases, the novel has been banned by public school systems and even criminalizeed by public libraries. Along with the excessive use of the word, nigger, the basis for this blatant censorship has been the portrayal of one of the main characters in Huck Finn, Jim, a black knuckle down who runs away from his owner, Miss Watson. At several points in the novel, Jims character is described to the reader, and some people have looked upon the presented characterization as racist. However, before one begins to censor a novel it important to distinguish the ideas of the author from the ideas of his characters. It is also important to read carefully to sufficiently capture the underlying themes of a novel. If one were to do this in relation to Huck Finn, one would, without a doubt, realize that it is not racist and is, in fact, anti-slav ery. On an superficial level The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn might appear to be racist. The first time we meet Jim he is given a very negative description. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childlike, not very bright, and extremely superstitious. However, it is important not to have sight of who is giving this description and who it is being given to. Although Huck is not a racist child, he has been raised by extremely racist individuals w...