Huck Finn Racial Contoversy
Essay Preview: Huck Finn Racial Contoversy
Report this essay
Huckleberry Finn has been the locus of controversy for many years regarding the issue of racism within the novel. Although all the readers are aware of the time period of when the novel is taken place, the questions becomes whether the novel emboldens racism or satires it. Julius Lester, the first literary critic, argues that the very nature and depiction of Jim in Huck Finn is racist. His first point of attack is the notion that Huck is playing and adventuring with Jims freedom as an inherent form of whiteness. The fact that the freedom of a slave is just a fun trip for Huck illustrates how the novel is reentering the notion that the freedom of slaves is just a game to white people. Lester also believes that Twain makes odieus parallels to Huck being “enslaved” by his father and Jim being a real slave. Lester argues that the parallelism Twain uses undermines the true horrors of the institution of slavery. Finally Lester believes that even though the book is written from a point of view of a 14 year old boy in the given environment, it is the authors choice to write from that perspective, which outlines the indirect racism of Twain.
On the other hand, Justin Kaplan believes that the premise of Huckleberry Finn is a matchless satire on racism and bigotry in the pre-emancipation time of America. Kaplan makes the argument that Huck represents the good in the hearts of everyone. Twain does a great job developing Hucks character in the book to exemplify the bond that a young white boy and a black man can have even in the time period of slavery. Kaplan believes that it is ironic that today the book is considered racist even though Huck’s sound heart