Huckleberry Finn – Was Mark Twain Being Racist in Writing His Novel? Research Paper

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Given the fact that proponents of left-wing agenda in this country have been jamming the notions of political-correctness down the throats of ordinary citizens for quite a while, it comes as no surprise that many Americans now have grown increasingly suspicious, towards the classics of American literature, as being innately racist. Mark Twain is one of such authors. Despite his friendly attitude towards Blacks, expressed in many of his books, Liberal censors now accuse him of patronising African-Americans, by revealing them in his novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain”, as simply agricultural workers, not overburdened with intellect, as opposed to today’s Hollywood portrayal of Blacks as solemnly computer geniuses, FBI “tough men” and American Presidents. In their article “Racism and Real Life: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature”, Annemarie Hamlin and Constance Joyner suggest that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should simply be banned nationwide, simply because in it, Black Americans are not being praised to the sky as “intelligent and beautiful”, as it is the case with today’s many Hollywood movies: “Mister Twain has authored a novel that perpetuates the inexplicable, insidious, and heinous sense of entitlement that dominates an entire society, manifested in the seemingly innate characteristics and dialogues of the fictional, racist, child, Huck Finn” (Hamlin, Joyner. 2007). The self-appointed guardians of politically-correct morality, such as Hamlin and Joyner, also accuse Twain’s novel of being filled with racial slur – apparently, the word “nigger” is being used in it 48 times. In its turn, this makes Liberal whiners to think that the reading of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” may cause an emotional harm to representatives of racial minorities, even though that the word “nigger” is being used millions times by Black students in Canadian and American public schools, on daily basis, while referring to each other, without any visible harm being done to them, as a result.

Nevertheless, not too many people seem as being particularly eager to subscribe to Hamlin and Joyner’s point of view, simply because they cannot comprehend how it is possible to begin referring to one of American literature’s masterpieces as “racist piece of garbage”, simply because Liberal White degenerates, with silver rings through their noses lips and genitals, want them to. The author of this paper is one of them. Apparently, in never occurred to self-appointed censors that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” cannot be thought of as being racist, in contemporary sense of this word, simply because at the time when Mark Twain was working on his book, the racial inferiority of Blacks could not become a subject of public discussion in principle, because of being self-evident. There can be no doubt as to the fact that Twain describes Jim as illiterate, overly prejudicious and highly unreliable individual, who likes to steal and who is absolutely incapable of relying on his own sense of rationale, while dealing with life’s challenges: “Jim knowed all kinds of signs. He said he knowed most everything… Jim said you mustn’t count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because that would bring bad luck. The same if you shook the table-cloth after sundown. And he said if a man owned a beehive and that man died, the bees must be told about it before sun-up next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down and quit work and die. Jim said bees wouldn’t sting idiots, but I saw him being stung” (Twain, Ch. VIII). However, Mark Twain did not know that in hundred years from his time, it will become a crime in America to even mention the fact that, during the course of IQ tests, Blacks score much lower, as compared to Whites. In his wildest dreams, Twain would never be able to imagine that, by the turn of 21st century, White Americans were to degrade to the point of being afraid to step outside of their houses, after it gets dark, as they rightly consider the process of “celebration of diversity”, on the part of representatives of racial minorities, as such that pose danger to their lives, especially if such “celebration” takes place under the cover of darkness. Therefore, we can say that the application of Liberal political labels to someone, who lived way before these terms were coined up, cannot be thought of as appropriate. To say that Mark twain was a racist, is the same as saying that Albert Einstein was much smarter that Isaac Newton, for example. By the end of 19th century, all European and American writers, philosophers, and scientists were racists, simply because they were not afraid of expressing their thoughts openly, as the concept of political correctness did not exist back then. After having set their foot on African continent, European explorers had found it being populated by primitive savages, who were never able to evolve beyond the Stone Age, and who were indulging in tribal warfare as their full time occupation. Therefore, it was only natural for Whites to think of Blacks as not being quite equal to themselves. This however, did not prevent Whites from growing increasingly sympathetic towards Blacks, as people who needed to be helped, in order to be able to get their act together. Mark Twain was one of such individuals. Even though that the thought of Black Americans being absolutely equal to Whites would never occur to him, he still thought that Blacks should be treated as human beings and not as soulless commodity. In fact, this idea represent a metaphysical foundation, upon which novel’s plot is based. Therefore, we can only agree with Mattlock Duczeminski, who in his article “Adventures of Huck Finn is NOT Racist”, suggests that Twain’s novel actually promotes tolerance: “Those who condemn the novel as racist propaganda are missing the point completely; Huck has lived his whole life learning that Blacks are unequal and should not be considered human, but only through his escapades with Nigger Jim does he find himself battling what he has been brought up to believe” (Duczeminski, 2007). If we blame Twain for being racist, we might as well blame the whole Western civilization for being racist in its essence (many hawks of political correctness do just that). And if we do it, in order for us to remain intellectually honest with ourselves, we should also stop utilizing technology, associated with this civilization. There is no need to use electricity (Edison was racist), we should ban plastics (Mendeleev and Dupont were racists), we should disband NASA (its founder Verner von Braun was not just a racist, but SS Sturmbanfuhrer), we should stop listening to classical music (as originating in European psyche, and therefore racist) etc. Why don’t we just strip of our clothes, put on a grass skirts around our waists, make spears out of wooden sticks, and start performing a cannibal dance? This would prove ourselves as being “non-racists” once and for all. However, even the most ardent promoters of neo-Liberalism appear as being not quite ready to stick to their own ideological doctrines; therefore, they should stop making ridiculous claims that the classical works of American literature (like Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”) must be banned from public libraries.

The issue of racism in today’s America, can be compared to a skin rush – the more it is being scratched, the more it itches. But it is not the prospect of relieving this “rush”, which prompts “lefties” to continue “scratching” it, but the fact that they derive a pleasure out of the very process of scratching, as the only thing they know how to do. What actually attracts readers to this Twain’s novel, is the fact that it contain politically incorrect motifs. If it was not the case, then “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” would have been forgotten long time ago, as such that does not represent any literary value. We need to understand that, in order for the work of literature to stimulate readers’ brain cells; it must be controversial in its essence. In his article “Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with Huckleberry Finn Today”, Tuire Valkeakari is making a good point when he says: “Twain’s narrative is itself shackled and diminished by its view of African Americans as Others. However, being a transitional text written by a former, ‘desouthernized’ Southerner married to a liberal Northerner, the novel also clearly contains an effort, albeit a flawed and unfinished one, to transcend the limitations of post-Reconstruction racism and racialism” (Valkeakari, p. 30). In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, author simply strived to describe the process of Huckleberry Finn broadening his intellectual horizons, as such that reflected Twain’s own intellectual transition. Author did not think of his novel other then something that was simply meant to entertain readers. There can be no doubt as to the fact that those who “struggle with racism”, as their full-time occupation, will find many racist motifs in Twain’s novel. However, before being granted a right to refer to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as “trashy racist novel”, they should have produced a literary masterpiece of at least the same value. Otherwise, they should be given a liberty to do with their opinions, in regards to Twain’s novel, just about anything, except for forcibly imposing them on everybody. Thus, we can say that the amount of racism, found in Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, directly corresponds to literary critics’ ability to act as professionals – the less they are professionally adequate, the more “racism” they will be able to find in this novel.

Bibliography

Duczeminski, Mattlock “Adventures of Huck Finn is NOT Racist”. 2007. Associated Content. 2008. Web.

Hamlin, Annemarie and Joyner, Constance “Racism and Real Life: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature”. 2007. Bnet Business Network. 2008. Web.

Mori, Kyle “The Racism of Huckleberry Finn”. 2007. Associated Content. 2008. Web.

Ray, David “Mark Twain should be an African-American Hero”. 1999. Bnet Business Network. 2008. Web.

Twain, Mark “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. 2006. The Project Gutenberg EBook. 2008. Web.

Titta, Rita “”. 1997. The Internationalist. 2008. Web.

Salwen, Peter “”. 1985. Salwen Business Communications. 2008. Web.

Valkeakari, Tuire “Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with Huckleberry Finn Today”. Atlantis (Alicante, Spain), (28)2, 2006. p. 29-43.

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