The Controversy
Surrounding
the Classic
Evidence
 1885 editorial from The Springfield Republican
 1902 letter from Mark Twain on Omaha’s public library
ban of Huck Finn
 1957 editorial about the New York City Board of
Education banning the book
 2011 article about a new edition of Huck Finn with the
“n” word replaced by “slave”
Modern Day Implication
 Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn is number fourteen on the American
Library Association’s list of most frequently
banned books. Despite this, the book has
also appeared on the AP Literature and
Composition test fifteen times between
1980 and 2013. Despite the controversies,
why has the novel remained a staple in high
school literature study?
Rationale
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
represents some of the most profound
insights into race relations in US history.
It's important to understand the oppression
of black Americans in our nation's past and
see how the friendship that grows between
Huck and Jim was revolutionary in that
time and place.
Rationale
 It has become a victim of modern cultural
wars over political correctness.
 "The word is nigger. It is spelled N-I-G-G-E-R.
In these days, it can be a horrible fighting
word in the wrong mouth and with the wrong
inflection. It is important to recognize that
in 1885, it did not mean the same thing.
What was Twain supposed to do, call them
African-Americans?” - David Bradley, black
writer and English professor at Temple
University
Rationale
 While critics say the book promotes a
negative image of black people, I believe it
provides the first strong portrayal of a black
hero.
 It’s a pivotal book from which all black-andwhite American literature followed. Huck
matures and grows by the end of their
adventures and learns to see Jim as a
human being, overcoming the prejudiced
values of his era. We all have something to
learn from this text.
Chapters 1 – 4
I.
I DISCOVER MOSES AND THE BULRUSHERS
II. OUR GANG’S DARK OATH
III. WE AMBUSCADE THE A-RABS
IV. THE HAIR-BALL ORACLE
Compare & Contrast Huck & Tom
HUCK
TOM
Evidence
Huck & Tom are both:
adventurous, curious, rebellious orphans
HUCK, The Loner
TOM, The Leader
Practical Realist
•literal-minded
•carries out sensible
plans
Romantic Dreamer
•imaginative
•creates elaborate
schemes and games
Thrives on freedom –
wants to escape and
be “free and
satisfied.”
Conforms to society –
driven by his
conscience and
expectations
Has authentic and
serious experiences
Imitates fictional and
fantastic adventures
Evidence
MAJOR THEMES
 civilization (on land) vs. natural life (on the river)
/conflict between society vs. the individual
 rebirth
 religion and superstition
 slavery and racism
 money
 honor
Discussion- chapters 1-4:
 Huck as narrator – why?
 Being “sivilized” is “so lonesome” for Huck
 Miss Watson
 “Miss Watson’s big nigger, named Jim” (13).
 “I offered them Miss Watson– they could kill her” (16).
 Twain (gently) mocks religion and prayer
 “the good place” and “the bad place” (10-11)
 “By-and-by they fetched the niggers in and had prayers” (11).
 “She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I
would get it. But it warn’t so. I tried it” (19).
Discussion- chapters 1-4:
 The river = “awful still and grand” (15)
 Superstition




Huck killing spider would “fetch some bad luck” (11)
Jim and the “five-center piece” (15)
Huck spilled the salt = bad luck (23)
Jim’s hair-ball of magic & his monologue to Huck (25)
 Intro to Pap (chap. 3)
 “I didn’t want to see him no more” (20)
 “He used to always whale me” (20)
 Judge Thatcher’s character (chap. 4)
The Court System
 “The judge and the widow went to law to get the court
to take me away from [Pap] and let one of them be my
guardian; but it was a new judge that had just come,
and he didn’t know the old man; so he said courts
musn’t interfere and separate families if they could
help it; said he’d druther not take a child away from its
father” (chap. 5).
 “That law trial was a slow business; appeared like they
warn’t ever going to get started on it” (chap. 6)
Twain’s Critique of the Courts
 Huck’s experiences with Pap seem to show Huck’s need
to escape from a society which forces a son to obey
such a thoroughly corrupt and evil person as Pap.
 The lack of understanding in the “new judge” when he
refuses to “take a child away from its father” is another
example of how society follows the old stereotyped
concepts without considering the individual factors in a
case. Only when the new judge personally experiences
the hypocrisy of Pap does he realize his error.
Discussion- chapters 5-7:
 Pap




Why is Pap upset with Huck? (chap. 5)
What seems to motivate Pap?
Summarize and discuss his attempt to try and change.
How would you characterize Pap?
 Huck
 Give examples to show how Huck is adaptable. What are
possible reasons for his adaptability to different situations?
 Summarize and discuss Huck’s escape and staged death.
 “I did wish Tom was there. Nobody could spread himself like
Tom Sawyer in such a thing as that” (chap. 7). What is Huck
saying? How is this ironic?
Discussion- chapters 5-7:
 delirium tremens (noun)
a psychotic condition typical of withdrawal in chronic
alcoholics, involving tremors, hallucinations, anxiety, and
disorientation.