Book Reports /
controversy about Adventures of Huck Finn [11]
Why in the world is Huck in our Classrooms?!
Remember school? Having assignments that keep piling higher and higher as time passes? Having to read books you never understood? Books that angered you and left you with migraines at such a young age. Well, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is such a book. And even worse one, at that Mark Twain's purpose in writing the illicit book may have been to entertain with the adventures of a juvenile lad named Huck as he tries to evade his violent father and "sivilization" (Twain 3); but since the novel is set prior to the Civil War, the plot contains many references to slavery. Consequentially, there has been and still a long-standing dispute about whether or not the narrative should be read in schools. The irksome novel is unacceptable for the middle school curriculum, because it deifies impertinence and unruliness, teaches pitiable grammar, and exposes the reader to violent imagery.
To begin, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a negative impact on children because of the bad morals that it promotes. Unlike what accomplices declare, Huck is not a teacher of morals. Huck is a bad influence on their young minds. Many children, when exposed to Huck's rabid behavior, envy him and therefore, copy him. They see his life and consider it to be the glamorous life. Much like teens these days, and the atrocious celebrities seen on the screen. However, Huck is a more disastrous threat because he is their peer and is introduced to them by the school, the very place that is meant to keep them from doing wrong. So, it must be alright to be like Huck, right? It must be alright to be "hated by the mothers of the town because [you are] idle, lawless, vulgar and bad" (Chicago Daily Tribune, 7). It must be okay to "admire him...and [dare] to be like him" (Chicago Daily Tribune, 7). Huck's "want to smoke" (Twain, 4) has led copious children to try smoking, which as we know, can lead to addiction. This addiction would have a stronger hold on them than the average adult seeing as the nicotine has less body mass to conquer. Huck is a terrible role model. Let's not forget that Huck isn't the only character in the book. Not only will children be influenced by Huck's indecent behavior, but also by the King and the Duke's. "The royal nonesuch" (145) is an outright example of atrocious behavior rewarded by money too many a times. The Duke and the King scam people and run with the money which they spend getting into a drunken stupor. Children are not going to go out and scam their neighbors right now, but it may seem appealing to them as a future lifestyle. They start off small by being cheaters, habitual liars, and petty thieves. And just you watch as the children's
In addition, Huckleberry Finn is not an appropriate book for middle school students because the wrong grammar may throw them off course as they are still learning the basics of the English language. Both Huck and Jim's manner of speaking are composed of wrong subject-verb agreement, and others. "[Jim] tuck out en shin down de hill" (43). I read this book and I still don't know what exactly this sentence means. As one tries to read the book we subconsciously substitute words but this in effect causes on to misunderstand the events of the story. And continual sight of bad grammar gets ingrained into the mind and eventually ends up in ones written language. Another instance in which grammar affects understanding of book is when Mrs. Loftus tells the disguised Huck to "take a cheer" (54) after he came in. Is this what Mrs. Loftus actually said? Is the misspelling due to Huck being the narrator, or is just a saying? Not only is the grammar incorrect, but it is permeated by the vulgar language. Jim and other blacks are referred to as "niggers" (5). This word is even more offensive as it was at the time this book was published. At the time the book was published, several other words could have been used to get the meaning across. The word is mentioned approximately "over 215 times" (Seattle pi) in a 279 page narrative. Are there really no other words to describe a black person? Some would argue that the wrong grammar is American realism. And if so, the book belongs in history class. Nevertheless, there were blacks with better grammar than that portrayed by Jim . And even if all blacks spoke that way, you cannot just say he was writing how people spoke, and overlook what he wrote.Teaching the novel to eighth- grade kids is "pulling the pin of a hand grenade and tossing it into the all too common American classroom."(Young Spartacus) due to over use of the "N" word. "Nigger" denotes the black man as commodity, as chattel equal to livestock. Classic or not, this rancid book should not be allowed in our classrooms to continue to cause children discomfiture and chagrin about their heritage.
Most importantly, the book should not be allowed in middle school is the great amount of Violence and gore. Explanation of a fight is given As "[killing] a man,...then that man's brother kills him...and by and by everybody is killed off." This is the only way to end a feud. Some argue that the book is antiviolence. However, Huck gets into violent situations time and time again. Several fist fights erupt, with solid, painful-looking blows. Huck's father threatens him with a knife, and Huck holds him off with a rifle. Eventually the father is shown dead of a gunshot wound. Huck kills a rat by winging a bottle at it. He also shoots a boar, drags it around and smears its blood on the walls of his father's cabin. During a gun battle between feuding families, a young boy named Buck is shot and his corpse is found floating in the river. Huck's companion, Jim, shows the deep welts of a whipping he's been subjected to. During a mob scene, a shooting and a stabbing occur. Repetitive risky behavior
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Fishkin, Shelley. Was Huck black?. Oxford University Press, USA, 1994. Print.
