Huckleberry Finn in Schools
People may believe that Huckleberry Finn should not be taught in schools because it has a word choice that could offend people, but Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools because through the adventures of a young boy and a black man who has run away from slavery, there are more good things that come from this book than bad that a student can learn through the experiences they had on the river. If this book is taught the right way in schools, they will get a better understanding of the things that the author tries to get across to the audience. There have been people who have taken offense to the number of times Twain uses the word “nigger”. They feel like they are being discriminated against, or it is too much of a racial slur.
The truth is, the way Twain uses the “N” word was very appropriate for that time period it was written in. Black people in that time were known as niggers, and it wasn’t meant to offend or hurt them in any way. If this book is taught in the right way, it can be very helpful for the students. Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools in order to help kids understand the real meaning of “nigger” so maybe they will no longer be offended by it. Mark Twain used many things throughout the book that are very beneficial for student to learn. These things include satire, soliloquy, and a feel for how life was back in that time.
Twain wrote this novel in a way that the black slave Jim spoke in an accent that was very accurate to how the black people would talk in that time. If students read and learn this book, they would be able to get a better understanding of the lack of education there was for the people that lived through that time, especially for the black slaves. The students would also be able to make their own writing better by learning ways to make their character in their stories come to life in just the way they talk. Also, Twain shows how ridiculous people were in some of the small towns back then by satirizing how people would act in order to keep a high status for themselves. But the students would have to be taught this book during their schooling in order to have the opportunity to learn all of these things. Teachers could have the ability to change the way that “nigger” is viewed all across the country.
When this book is taught, teachers could tell the students the real meaning of that word. Students learn how it originated and how it was used back in that day. Teachers could potentially have the ability to change the harsh meaning it has today, and fix tensions between many groups of people. If people truly knew how it was used, they would no longer be so sensitive to that word. And this would all happen if Huckleberry Finn was taught in schools. The controversy over whether or not Huckleberry Finn should be taught in schools still is going on between thousands of people today.
Ultimately, because it can be such a great learning opportunity for students, it should be taught in schools so that they can gain a better understanding of how the times were back in that day, and how life was for a young boy on the river, and a runaway black man.
