Inequality in “Huckleberry Finn”, “the Little Friend” and “Let America Be America Again”
Inequality in “Huckleberry Finn”, “The Little Friend” and “Let America be America Again”
Throughout history, inequality has been shown through slavery, the neglecting of rights and social status. Varying from racial group to financial class, inequality applies to a wide range of people all over the world. Since it is such an immense problem in society, it is often shown in literature as well. Being evident in both “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “The Little Friend” by Donna Tartt, these works outline the fundamentals of unequal rights to different racial group and social statues. Although both sources reveal substantial inequality, both also show numerous examples of people standing up against inequality, striving towards a future with equal rights and fair treatment. Langston Hughes poem, “Let America be America Again”, portrays how unjust and cruel America was in the twentieth century. It gives a blunt description of the amount of racism and inequality that was seen. Langston Hughes’ poem helps to elaborate on what life was like in the eighteenth century when “Huckleberry Finn” took place and in the twentieth century when “The Little Friend” took place. One of the main forms of inequality in the eighteenth century, twentieth century and even today manifests itself in racism. Claudia Johnson claims that some people believed and still do believe that the white race was superior to the black race. This opinion caused people to believe that black slavery was just, as it was even supported by the church and religions (Johnson pg 130). “Huckleberry Finn” contains a great deal of racism, shown mostly through slavery. Jim, an African-American, was a run away slave. Back in the nineteenth century it was believed that if a slave ran away from his owner, he was breaking the seventh commandment, “thou shall not steal” (Johnson pg 130). This was a form of theft because the black slaves were “portrayed as a piece of property” (Johnson, pg 107) by society.
Throughout history, inequality has been shown through slavery, the neglecting of rights and social status. Varying from racial group to financial class, inequality applies to a wide range of people all over the world. Since it is such an immense problem in society, it is often shown in literature as well. Being evident in both “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “The Little Friend” by Donna Tartt, these works outline the fundamentals of unequal rights to different racial group and social statues. Although both sources reveal substantial inequality, both also show numerous examples of people standing up against inequality, striving towards a future with equal rights and fair treatment. Langston Hughes poem, “Let America be America Again”, portrays how unjust and cruel America was in the twentieth century. It gives a blunt description of the amount of racism and inequality that was seen. Langston Hughes’ poem helps to elaborate on what life was like in the eighteenth century when “Huckleberry Finn” took place and in the twentieth century when “The Little Friend” took place. One of the main forms of inequality in the eighteenth century, twentieth century and even today manifests itself in racism. Claudia Johnson claims that some people believed and still do believe that the white race was superior to the black race. This opinion caused people to believe that black slavery was just, as it was even supported by the church and religions (Johnson pg 130). “Huckleberry Finn” contains a great deal of racism, shown mostly through slavery. Jim, an African-American, was a run away slave. Back in the nineteenth century it was believed that if a slave ran away from his owner, he was breaking the seventh commandment, “thou shall not steal” (Johnson pg 130). This was a form of theft because the black slaves were “portrayed as a piece of property” (Johnson, pg 107) by society.