Preview

Huckleberry Finn Synthesis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
203 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huckleberry Finn Synthesis
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain’s most famous novel, is an essential in the study of American literature; it marks the beginning of the emergence of the genre. It was the first novel to break away from European Romantic writing and establish a distinct American style.
Of its myriad of controversies, the most prominent is the frequent use of the “n-word,” a derogatory term backed by centuries of discrimination that is inextricably linked with brutality and violence against African Americans. Whether or not the “n-word” is considered offensive is not up to anyone but those of African descent.
“The novel is written from the limited first-person point of view of a fourteen-year-old boy” (Source J), not the author’s point of view.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this cartoon, Mike Luckovich is referring to the controversial use of the word “nigger” within Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Luckovich wants his audience to note the changes in the meaning of the “n-word” over time. In the early 19th century, the “n-word” was a common term used to identify an African American. In today’s society, this word can often be heard throughout pop culture and rap lyrics, which is why the young boy has mistakenly referred to Mark Twain as one of the great “gangsta rappers.” However, Luckovich uses this scenario to indirectly explain that since the “n-word” is considered an acceptable identification of an African American in modern music, why should it not be allowed within Twain’s work?…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn has been called one of the greatest pieces of American literature, deemed a classic. The book has been used by teachers across the country for years. Now, Huck Finn, along with other remarkable novels such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, are being pulled off the shelves of libraries and banned from classrooms. All the glory this majestic piece by Mark Twain has acquired is slowly being deteriorated. This is…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Author Henry James has said that "it takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.” For over one hundred years slavery had crippled the African American people and aided the white man; however, when the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect it would become a slow catalyst of change that would take over a century for the Civil Rights Movement to be at its pinnacle. Racial limits would be pushed, lasting tension would arise. A great American novel of this time should depict the questionable change in racial demographics of the United States. Set before African American freedom, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain has been incessantly praised by authors and critics of all levels for pushing boundaries. It needs to be placed “in the context first of other American novels and then of world literature” (Smiley 1). Much like the American way of leaving the old country behind and immigrating to the United States, the novel’s loveable, young country boy of a narrator, Huckleberry Finn, pulls in readers of all kinds and feels the loneliness of being on his own travelling in the south, save for his runaway slave friend Jim. Along their adventures up and down the Mississippi River to free Jim, the reader follows Huck’s moral development, which is built up during different episodes in the story, but ultimately undone in the end. Although the “roundabout” nature of the end of the novel and Huck’s moral regression has rendered distaste, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deserves its place in the literary canon of American literature for its variable structure, good-natured narrator, and reflections of Antebellum America.…

    • 3904 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is an American masterpiece. Contrary to The Algerine Captive Mark Twain‘s satire and irony is emphasized through the style and the use of the American “vernacular” dialect for the first time as well as the use of the African-American dialect. Therefore Huckleberry Finn remains the work that elevates this onetime rustic humorist into the ranks of literary genius. It is considered by Satirist Dick Gregory once said that Twain “was so far ahead of his time that he shouldn’t even be talked about on the same day as other people Huckleberry Finn is considered as the first American Novel and aimed at forging an American identity independent from the European one. The Novel, hence, satirize the paradoxical issues of slavery and the hypocrisy of the society as well as the deep intuitions of America.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” is a classic novel written by Mark Twain. The story tells of a young man Huck Finn and his friend Jim, a slave, starting an adventure toward the freedom of Jim. The adventure is not only full with excitement, but also full of moral for Huck to learn. In the beginning of the book, Huck is wild and careless. He plays jokes and tricks on people and believed that is was hilarious. As the story goes on, Huck starts to change into a more mature and caring person.…

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huck Finn Synthesis

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    By changing the word “nigger” to “slave” defeats the purpose of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn being a historical piece of literature. Such a change means ignoring the past and the word “nigger” is part of that past. “Nigger” is demeaning and insulting but is its replacement any less demeaning and insulting. Changing the word would not only destroy the message that Mark Twain was trying to convey, but also America’s history.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    is the well known Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Ever since the book was first published, people…

    • 749 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Morality is what sets humans apart from the animal kingdom. We act on our beliefs, instead of our instincts, which perhaps makes us the flawed species. As humans, we all develop our own set of morals of which we use to make decisions in our day to day life. We use this moral compass to differentiate between right and wrong, but what we see as the right thing to do is not necessarily our own opinion, but societies. Adventures of Huckleberry finn by Mark Twain demonstrates that morality and society are one and the same. Huck has the opinions and morals of society constantly thrown in his face, and instead of giving into those values, he creates his own. Huck was raised without a mother, who provides an essential role in determining a child 's morals and beliefs. Huck’s motherless upbringing allowed him to develop morals of his own based on experience, not on hand-me-down morality. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also shows us how stereotypes created by society influence the way we act towards others. Religion is definitely the largest component to determining one 's morality. Religion literally lays out societies laws and values, and how can one argue with something when they believe their afterlife depends on it. These were not only issues that came up in our past, but in our present and most definitely our future. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will always be relevant to society as long as humans walk the earth. By nature, humans desire to fit in with society and fear rejection. Huck teaches us that society isn 't always right, it is our individual opinions that should determine our actions, not what the general population believes. If there weren 't people to voice their opinions about the treatment of african americans, then we would still have slave to this very day. Also, if these lessons are not continually taught to future generations, history may one day repeat itself.…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, authored by Mark Twain is a story of a young runaway boy who develops a close bond with an escaping slave as they travel down the Mississippi River together. However this exciting, adventurous story of two boys caused a huge controversy: as it pushed the idea of authority, made a joke of religion, condemns racial slurs, and presents insulting language. This has sparked attention from the media more than a century after being published and is causing an outrage from people, banning it from schools.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Satire Essay

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many authors use satire to discuss issues in society that they have opinions on. These authors express their opinions by mocking the issues in a subtle way in their writing. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes many societal elements. Three of these issues include the institution of slavery, organized religion, and education.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is about a young boy, named Huckleberry, fakes his death to get away from his drunk of a father, the town is left wondering who murdered him. Meanwhile Jim, a slave, happens to run away from his owner on the same night. When Jim is found missing the towns people pin the homicide on him. A little way up the river, on an island, Jim and Huck bump into each other and decide to work together to escape their old lives. While on this journey they bond over their search for freedom and because of Jim, Huck takes a new perspective on the value of black lives.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain is the story of a young man, Huck Finn, who runs away with a slave named, Jim. On their journey they break laws, encounter challenges, and Huck is faced with questions that define his identity. The events in the novel take place during the mid-1800s along the Mississippi river. Throughout the novel Twain uses sarcasm and ridicule to expose flaws in society during this time, making Huckleberry Finn a satire. Twain uses the characters to satirize the flaws in mid-1800s southern society by mocking the racism, church life, and morality of its members.…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why People Use The N Word

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In today's generation, people so loosely use the word that is demeaning and caused so much hurt in the past. It is amazing that people have selective amnesia and conveniently forget that the N-word brought among hurt, confusion, death and betrayal. Now people are trying to say that the N-word can be used as a word of endearment, a word that sets apart an enemy from a foe. Of course depending on the tone and nature that the term is spoken in. I have been deeply offended and distraught at the thought that this word could be used in any way uplifting. So many people died not be called that word and now so many people thrive and look forward to being labeled such a terrible word. I have also come to the realization that people that use the…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bill Cosby, Chris Rock and Gloria Naylor have something in common; they are African Americans but the difference between these three individuals is that they have different views and opinions about the N – Word being used in this day and time. The word nigger has been used as a hurtful racial slur and used toward discrimination. Cosby, Naylor, and Rock have all been around the time when the N-Word was used to belittle and hurt African Americans. On Meet the Press, Cosby was on the show discussing his book Come on My People and telling the people of America, and different countries that nigger, should be eliminated and not be used by whites or in the black community. Rock had a different opinion of the use of the N- word. On Inside the Actors Studio, Rock discussed the N- word is appropriate to use in the black community because if used in the right hands, then it becomes poetry and art, but if nigger is not used in the right hands, then it can cause harm to someone. Also, Naylor had a similar opinion discussed in “A Word’s Meaning.” She explained the nigger is an offensive term if used in the wrong way, but that same offensive term can mean other definitions that are acceptable and not harmful to others. Rock and Naylor use of the word is appropriate because the word is another form of art and new meanings in plural and even singular form. The N- word is a derogatory word that is used to offend damage and cause pain to color skinned people but the word demonstrates triumph, victory, new meanings and change from the past to the present, therefore nigger should be used and not eliminated like Bill Cosby desires.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The N-Word Argument

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Every black person who lives in the United States at some point or another comes to accept one thing: the “N-word” is not going away. Whether you use it or not, whether you are OK with it or deeply offended by it, it’s a word weighted down with so much history and so much pain that is impossible to avoid” (Blay 1). The negative connotation around the “N-word” has been plaguing the country since its founding. One of the key principles that America is founded on is that “All Men Are Created Equal” (Jefferson Declaration of Independence), but let me continue it; All Men Are Created Equal except women, homosexuals and lastly niggers. The word “nigger” had so much power because it was used to belittle Africans and make it so that they were not…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays