The Censorship Of Huck Finn :: essays research papers

The Censorship of Huckelberry Finn   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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 occurring because some say it does not meet 'today's'; politically correct standards. This is an immense disturbance to all who have read and cherished Huckelberry Finn and know this work's true meaning. Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things branded with its mark. In this instance of The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, it takes away an American treasure, and more importantly, defies First Ammendment rights. Those who find Huck Finn distasteful and unappropriate are trying to brand this work, by censorship, and make it unjust to read. This is similar to a farmer trying to brand his mark upon a bull, with those against Huck Finn as the farmers and Huckelberry Finn is the bull. As most know the bull never goes down without a fight and won't allow thje farmer to branded, just as the supporters of Huckelberry Finn will not just be taken down passively. The main reason Huckelberry Finn is being subjected to such scrutiny is because of the way Twain protrayed 'nigger'; Jim, and his use of the racial slur. The Anti-Huckelberry Finn feel that it is to uncomfortable for African-Americans to read the book and think they are being stereotyped into Jim's image. Though some find it wrong for this American treasure to remain availible due to its racism, this is not the case. Even though the word 'nigger'; is used over 200 times in the book, it was common for African-Americans to be refered to as this during the period of the book and the time the book was published. Those trying to have Huckelberry Finn censored are also opposed to Jim being portrayed as 'an uneducated man, very superstitious, infantile, passive, and generally uncultured,'; as written by Frank Ritter. These ideas may at first seem like the basis for a good arguement, but it is later apparent that these