The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Why To Reverse the Banning

By: Blake Ledden Click to edit Master subtitle style

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Mark Twain

Mark Twain (his real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens), born November 30, 1835 April 21, 1910, was an American author andhumorist. He is well known for his novels,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(1876), and itssequel,Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(December885), it was later called TheGreat American Novel."

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Summary of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn is a boy who grew up friends with Tom Sawyer and Jim (their slave). When Huckleberrys drunk father tries to kidnap him, Huckleberry Finn and Jim runaway. They encounter characters like the Duke and King (con-artists who include Huckleberry and Jim in scamming several cities). After Huckleberry escapes Duke and King, he goes back to his hometown where he impersonates Tom Sawyer. He eventually escapes his hometown to an Indian territory. 4/29/12

Controversy of Huckleberry Finn

Coarse Language Use of the N-word over 215 times

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When was Huckleberry Finn Challenged and Why

When: 1984, 1990s, 2003, 2007, 2009. 5th most challenged book of the 1990s.

Why: In general, the debate over Twain'sThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finnhas centered around the language of the book, which has been objected to on social grounds. Yielding to public pressure, some textbook publishers have substituted "slave" or "servant" for the term that Mark Twain uses in the book, which has been considered derogatory to 4/29/12 African Americans.

Court Cases That Deal with Huckleberry Finn

Monteiro v. Tempe Union High Sch. Dist: Made it all the way to a federal court case, but Monterio lost the case.

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Argument
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be banned on the grounds that the book is a piece of American history, and the coarse language is just what was used during that time. The grounds that it was meant to be offensive to the African American character (Jim) are incorrect; Jim was actually Huckleberry Finns friend, and nothing was meant to be derogatory. Thank you for your time, and I know the results of this piece of American history are in your hands, and I know you will use your decision 4/29/12