Will Clark Mrs.

Rogers English III 15 April 2014 Twains World Author Mark Twain grew up in the antebellum South, WHERE THE RIVER RAN FREELY; AND BLACKS RAN FOR FREEDOM. SOUTHERN ATTITUDE WAS OPPRESSIVE AND CONSISTENT; WHITES WERE BETTER THAN BLACKS. TWAINS FAMILY OWNED A BLACK MAN. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn WAS WRITTEN FOR SOUTHERN READERS BY A SOUTHERN MAN, YET THE BOOK IS NOT A DEFENSE OF SOUTHERN BELIEFS. THROUGH HIS CHARACTERS AND HIS THEMES, TWAIN USED his understanding of the south TO encourage Southern readers to question the BASIS of racism during a time period of southern turmoil. TWAINS CHARACTER PORTRAYALS SHUN THE IDEA THAT MAN SHOULD JUDGE ANOTHER BASED ON SKIN COLOR. IN THE NOVEL, Jim cries about the time he gave his daughter a slap side de head for not listening CAUSING readers TO become skeptical of him (157). HOWEVER, WHEN he realizes his daughter was just deaf from the illness, his character immediately shifts to a parent of compassion, as he grabs her in [his] arms, and prays to the Lord (158). JIM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS DAUGHTER, BUT HE PUTS FULL EFFORT INTO MAKING THINGS RIGHT. BECAUSE JIM IMMEDIATELY TRIES TO CORRECT HIS MISTAKES, THE READER SEES JIM PRACTICE PERSONAL

RESPONSIBILITY. THROUGH HIS RESPONSIBLE ACTION TWAIN ASSOCIATES JIM AS A GOOD MAN, AND SOMEONE WHO IS CAPABLE OF CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY. LATER ON, when Jim confides in Huck about why he wants to be free, Twain DESCRIBES flaws in popular southern beliefs. Jim talks about earning his own freedom and speaks of working hard, so that he could one day buy his family. HUCK RESPONDS WITH an old saying that if a man give[s] a nigger an inch [theyll] take an ell (89). With this passage, Twain is intentionally creating an unwinnable argument FOR RACISTS. Jims idea about going back to save his family AND even risking his imagined freedom is undoubtedly brave and respectable, even to white readers, BECAUSE the love of family is COMMON ACROSS humanity. To further the idea that Twain is using the phrase to question his southern readers, it comes from Huck, the white character. Because Jims plan is so easy to understand morally, the popular idea that when a nigger gets an inch hell want more HAS LESS appeal because although Jim does want more, it is not out of greed, rather love. LATER IN TWAINS WRITING, after Tom Sawyer has been shot, Jims freedom is at stake. Although Jim could run to save himself and stay free, he strongly extinguishes the idea, saying he cannot let a young boy suffer without proper care from a doctor; [and that hed stay] forty year[s] (276). Jim again makes a humane decision over the easier or selfish choice. He has the freedom to do whatever he wants; yet he stays to help A young boy who GREATLY WRONGED HIM. This moment forces readers to make the decision that Jim, a nigger, is not only HUMAN, but also GOOD. By constantly showing JIMS morals, Twain encourages his readers to realize that each man should be judged alone; that if a nigger acts like a man, then he should be treated like one.

Some say Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel. Although Mark Twain does not have to be racist for his book to be racist, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist towards black people. ProponentS BELIEVING the novel is racist, point out the word nigger is used OVER 200 times. The word nigger is a hateful word that today, represents how blacks were treated as property during the times of slavery. The word is MOSTLY used BY BIGOTS AND THE UNEDUCATED, WHICH IS WHY SOME ARE CONFUSED BY TWAINS USE OF THE WORD. HOWEVER, IN the South during this time period, black slaves and black men WERE called niggers. In the book Jim, a black slave, refers to a couple other slaves as some er de niggers (112). This shows, that in the novel, nigger was not always hurtful because Jim, a nigger himself, was not using the word to insult the other slaves. Twain uses the word how the word was used at the time. ALTHOUGH NOW IT CREATES CONFLICT, BACK THEN the word ACTUALLY addS MORE BELIEVABILITY to the story. LATER ON, When Pap uses nigger in a derogatory sense, it seems to question racism more than solidify it. As Pap rants about nigger rights in the North, he objects to the idea that a nigger college professor could vote and contribute to society (27). However, the message of the passage is not that blacks are inferior. The passage uses hypocrisy, as Pap does not vote or really contribute to society, even as a white man (27). Twain exposes a black character as more intelligent and LIKEABLE than the white drunkard, Pap. Twains questioning of racist ideals SCREAMS A message of equality, even while using a word that stands for inequality. Another question some may have about the novel being racist is the horrible stupidity displayed by Jim. Twain portrays the black Jim as unintelligent. Jim can easily escape the shed he is held in; however, it would not follow Tom Sawyers

plan (249). This characterization shows Jim is stupid enough to be manipulated by children. By making Jim stupid Twain is saying blacks are not intelligent, and Twain himself is a racist. Wrong. Twain portrays many characters throughout the novel as ignorant or stupid. Pap is a town drunk. The Shepherdsons and Grangerfords kill each other and do not know why (109). White characters are constantly duped and scammed. Twain portrays instances of stupidity towards both blacks and whites. This shows Jims stupidity does not give a basis for blacks being inferior, because Twain also depicts white characters acting foolish. Twain portrays some blacks dumb (JIM), some smart (THE PROFFESOR), some whites dumb (PAP), and some smart (THE JUDGE). Race seems irrelevant as Twain shows people of both colors who are smart and people who are dumb. Some will still claim that if a character acts racist in the novel, it means Twain condones that sort of behavior. INSIDE THE CABIN, when Aunt Sally REALIZES ONLY a nigger has been killed she feels lucky because she does not feel niggers are truly people (222). This is the same Aunt Sally that prays with Jim and comes by to see he [i]s comfortable and ha[s] plenty to eat (249). Is Aunt Sally racist because she feels better that a black man died than a white? Why would Twain then characterize her as caring and nice towards a nigger? This purposefully designed character, forces the reader to question racism. The reader has to decide what makes someone racist, through Aunt Sally, thus defining racism for themselves. Twain pushes his readers to think about racism in a time when it was second nature, showing that his book is not racist, but rather the opposite. Through the use of opposing ideas, and conflicting thoughts, Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sparked thought provoking entertainment to post civil war American society. Twain challenged Southerners to define themselves, the ideas of

good people opposed to bad, and races role in that discussion. By questioning racism and making people think for themselves about it, Twain promoted open mindedness, proving his novel not racist, but rather a book that even today questions people who believe things without understanding the reasoning behind it.