Is Huck Finn Racist?

Erasmo Salgado

Eileen Babbs

Major American Literature

11/26/11

Is Huck Finn racist?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is about a boy named Huck Finn

and his fellow negro friend Jim going on a long adventure through the Mississippi river on a

raft trying to escape and find their freedom. Some critics think this book should be banned

because it contains many racial words that are very offensive to African Americans. People

who agree that this book should be banned should know that Mark Twain is actually writing

about freedom and the quest of freedom and not being racial to Black people.

This novel shouldn't be considered as racist because Mark Twain is helping us explain

and understand the meaning of the story when it was written. Critics think Huck is a young

ignorant kid who is racist and teases Jim throughout the story because of his race. He does

treat and teases Jim, sometimes pretty bad, but he starts changing and respecting him and

treating him like an ordinary person. Huck becomes more connected and treats Jim like a

friend. He says, " we catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off

sleepiness "(75). You can understand very clearly that Huck is having a good time with Jim.

Mark Twain explains to us that Huck and Jim are becoming friends and start having a better

connection. This shows Huck isn't considered a racist person because he is having a great time

with Jim even though he is not white.

Another perfect example Mark Twain gives us is when Huck says, " I knowed he was

white inside"(290). In the beginning of the story he brought up to believe that African

Americans are only useful as slaves and don't deserve human rights. However, he then

realizes that Blacks are no different then whites and deserve to be free because when he was

with Jim, he noticed