Readers,
I realize that I might have to tread carefully with this blog. Please not that none of what I'm about to say is intended to offend.
Today in class we went over a letter sent to our High School, in 1976, about removing Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from all English curriculum. Their points were two-fold: 1. The content of the book is offensive and destructive to the self-image and self-esteem of black students attending the classes. 2. The social messages in the book are totally offensive and irrelevant to the rapidly-changing social consciousness of today. (These were not exact quotes, I did my best to recreate their meaning in their words).
We went over in class what point two implied, that perhaps it should not be the parents who choose what social messages we, the students, get to see. However, I was much more interested in what point one implied. It seemed to say that black students would be offended or emotionally damaged by reading this book. I brought up the idea that this should not be viewed as offensive because it is not a modern day piece of literature. It is an accurate representation of the viewpoints of some in the time Mark Twain wrote the book. If the book is damaging and emotionally distressing, then it is because the period of time it represents was damaging and emotionally distressing. Because of this, Huck Finn as a book can't really be seen as any more offensive as a history book.
Another point we brought up was that Mark Twain wrote this book to be satirical. But, as our teacher pointed out, there are points where Mr. Twain was not being satirical. Could these points be then considered offensive and distressing? Again, I must say no. Because at those points where Twain is not being satirical, Huck Finn is still telling the story. In order for the story to be believable, as well as an accurate mirror of the time, Huck would need to speak in an offensive way. At this point Twain isn't being offensive, he's sticking to the character of Huck. And I think that this means there is no reason to be offended by it.
Please feel free to comment, I admit I could have completely misjudged both the book and the letter. This is just the impression I got. Perhaps there's something I'm missing or ignoring, and I'd like to hear either one.
Andrew, I agree that the book is a reflection of the time period's attitudes, and so cannot be taken offensively today as it bears no reflection on current racial attitudes. However, I disagree that Huck's dialogue is not to be taken satirically. Whenever Huck voices offensive terminology or views relating to African Americans, Twain is satirizing the typical white man's (or child's) attitude at the time through Huck. There is therefore no reason, in my opinion, to take the social messages of the book offensively, when they should be taken in quite the opposite way.
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