Huckleberry Finn and the use of Satire
Huck Finn and the use of Satire Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been controversial ever since its release in 1884. It has been called everything from the root of modern American literature to a piece of racist trash. Many scholars have argued about Huck Finn being prejudiced. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses satire to mock many different aspects of the modern world. Despite the fact that many critics have accused Mark Twain’s novel of promoting racism, through close analysis of the text, it becomes remarkably clear that Twain is satirical in his writing as he ridicules slavery and the racist attitudes prevalent in his day. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written shortly after the Civil War, in which slavery was one of the key issues. But while Mark Twain's father had slaves throughout his childhood, Twain’s eyes did not always view white supremacy as wrong: In my schoolboy days, I had no aversion to slavery (Bell 126). I was not aware that there was anything wrong about it. No one arraigned it in my hearing; the local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it; if the slaves themselves had any aversion to slavery they were wise and said nothing.
This comment, made by Twain, exemplifies that he was just as guilty of racism and supremacy over the blacks, although he grew up not knowing any better. Many scholars argue over the idea of Mark Twain being racist. Huck Finn is America’s best pieces of ironic fiction, but many oversee Twain’s use of satire. Some of the book’s main achievements are its realistic portrayal of hypocrisy of life along the Mississippi and its satirical attack on slavery. James Leonard and Thomas Tenney encourage that “it is difficult to teach irony, to overcome the literal, to show that a book may mean the opposite of what its words seem to say” (Leonard 9). Their statement is right; many people do not recognize the use of satirical language, but
This comment, made by Twain, exemplifies that he was just as guilty of racism and supremacy over the blacks, although he grew up not knowing any better. Many scholars argue over the idea of Mark Twain being racist. Huck Finn is America’s best pieces of ironic fiction, but many oversee Twain’s use of satire. Some of the book’s main achievements are its realistic portrayal of hypocrisy of life along the Mississippi and its satirical attack on slavery. James Leonard and Thomas Tenney encourage that “it is difficult to teach irony, to overcome the literal, to show that a book may mean the opposite of what its words seem to say” (Leonard 9). Their statement is right; many people do not recognize the use of satirical language, but
Cited: Bell, Bernard W. "Twain 's "Nigger" Jim." Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Ed. James S. Leonard, Thomas S. Tenney and Thadious M. Davis. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1992. 124-140. Print. Henry, Peaches. “The Struggle for Tolerance.” 25-47. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992. Leonard, James S. and Tenney, Thomas A. “Introduction.” 1-11. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992. Lester, Julius. “Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” 199-207. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992. Nichols, Charles. “A True Book-With Some Stretchers.” 208-215. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992. Wallace, John H. “The Case Against Huck Finn.” 16-24. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992. Woodard, Fredrick and MacCann, Donnarae. “Minstrel Shackles and Nineteenth-Century ‘Liberality’.”. 141-153. Leonard, Tenney and Davis 1992.