English 11 Honors
12, March, 2013
A Quality Piece of Literature
Is it fair to deprive students from historical realities in a piece of classic literature, simply because some content is inappropriate? The question of whether or not the novel “Huck Finn,” by Mark Twain should be banned in schools strikes a lot of controversy. I believe the answer to this question is no, it should not be banned. One of the most controversial elements in this novel is Twain’s use of derogatory terms directed towards slaves. Some people feel that the use of the “N” word is offensive, and that students should not be exposed to this. However, Mark Twain’s word choice comes from terms used in a historical time period, and it should not be denied or forgotten. What is important, is that this time period is long over, thus, students should be able to keep this in mind and read “Huck Finn” for its moral purposes. Although some ideas involving race are considered controversial, I believe these can be easily look passed, due to the educational benefit of the novel. “Huck Finn,” By Mark Twain, should be continued to be taught in schools due to its important moral lessons, the way it teaches kids to form perspective, and its educational purpose of teaching kids about a historical time period that they can learn and progress from. It should be taught in schools to be used as a classic piece of literature that students can truly learn from. Huck Finn has been taught in schools for many years. Obviously, it has continued to be taught in schools because it serves an educational purpose. One of its purposes is to expose kids to important moral concepts to learn from through Huck’s journey. One morality concept this novel focuses on is the concept of right versus wrong. Huck, being raised in a “white society,” constantly struggles with what actions he does towards Jim are sociably acceptable or not. At the beginning of the novel, Huck plays a trick on Jim that results...
Cited: 1) Eliot, T.S. “Introduction to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
Chanticleer Press, New York, 1950.
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