Tan 1

Elizabeth Tan

Kelly Hillesland

AP English 11

14 March 2018

A Different Approach

Growing up, I never found any books that had characters similar to me; they had the

same types of protagonists which I couldn’t fully connect to. I also never found books that

portrayed people with my background in a negative light, but I know it isn’t true for everyone.

Other minorities like African-Americans have been written in poor lighting, but these written

works have been pushed to them in classrooms. Books like ​Huckleberry Finn​ create an

inequality in classes, and their power to divide is why they shouldn’t be taught.

In regards to ​Huck Finn​’s usage of derogatory language, Judge Stephen Reinhardt

believes the way to think critically is through learning and understanding the context of offensive

language (Source F). This would align with the NAACP’s stance on the novel, but not all places

teach according to the organization. Within Katherine Schulten’s study for PBS’s ​Culture Shock​,

the effects of neglecting context are highlighted in the case of students from Cherry Hill, New

Jersey. One African-American student recalls their classmates being completely unprepared for

the book, with white students alienating their non-white peers via laughing and staring (Source

E). While teaching hard subjects like racism is necessary, a poor approach to the subject leads to

a divided classroom where minorities are outcast. In an ironic sense, teaching for the purpose of

equality by using books like ​Huck Finn​ create inequality within the same classrooms.
 Tan 2

The usage of words like [n] is an alienator in itself. In ​Understanding Huckleberry Finn​,

James S. Leonard and Thomas A. Tenney describe the word as “a slap in the face for black

Americans”. The connotations of the word are too serious to ignore, even if it is to help students

‘think critically’. Not only that, centuries have passed since ​Huck Finn​ was written, which makes

sticking with this classic book questionable. Peaches Henry writes in ​Satire and Evasion: Black

Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn,​ “not even one of the most taught works in American high

schools is written from a minority perspective.” White protagonists are treated as the default

hero, and stepping away from that to highlight non-white protagonists is severely overdue.

Representation is important, and assuming one view applies to everyone is incredibly

short-sighted.

Sure, books are supposed to be controversial and teaching them would bring hard topics

to students, but people need to look at the bigger picture and realize that ​Huck Finn​ is not the

only book that tackles racism. Maybe, for a change, classes should break the mold and teach

books providing new perspectives unlike the ‘universal’ white protagonist.