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Contemporary Education and Huck Finn
Imagine you were a black child going to your 8th grade English class and your teacher
asks you to read the next section of your book out loud: “We went tiptoeing along the path …
I fell over a root and made a noise. We scrouched down and laid still. Miss Watson’s big
nigger, named Jim …” and all you hear are quiet little snickers coming from every direction.
How do you think you would feel if that were you? How do you think you would feel if that
was your child coming home sobbing so hard that he can’t even tell you why he is so upset?
Well this scenario is everything but fictitious; it has happened hundreds and thousands of
times across the country. School students come into class and are required to read the great
classic, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and many come to find nothing but
pain and embarrassment due to the heavy words that Twain uses in his great masterpiece. The
question is whether or not Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be taught in
schools, even though it is controversial.
In order to answer this question we need to ask ourselves about the issues that
surround the controversy. Elaine and Harry Mensh in their dispute over racism, “Black,
White and Huckleberry Finn”, state that what used to be argued for literary concerns “is now
focused on the relationships between the ending and racial matters, in particular whether it
engages in racial travesty, or is instead an allegorical condemnation of the racial travesties of
the Post-Reconstruction era when it was written - an allegory that satirizes the principle and
practice of white supremacy” (14). For the most part it seems that the debate over the ending,
the “is it good enough to be called great?” dilemma, is still very literary, but the debate over
racism is very heated, and even worse, centered around American classrooms. Gerald Graff
and James Phelan of “A Case Study in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn” state the racial problems surrounding the classic quite clearly: on one hand it is argued
that “the novel is the ultimate expression of the American domestic spirit, a book that
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seriously criticizes slavery and racism and celebrates Huck’s recognition of Jim’s
individuality and worth” (357) but on the other hand, “many readers argue that the novel is so
fundamentally and unforgivably racist that promoting it as a masterpiece of American
literature actually perpetuates the country’s racism” (356).
What the book is so highly acclaimed for is also the reason for this controversy. The
southern antebellum backwoods dialect that is depicted in “Huck Finn” has been proclaimed
by scholars, such as T.S Eliot, Earnest Hemmingway, and Lionel Trilling to be nothing less
than genius. The high praise that these greats have given Twain is most likely the reason for
its introduction onto the required reading lists in schools across the country. Eliot, who states
that “In some ways this book has shaped the style and vision of virtually every American
writer … by elevating Huck’s vernacular speech to the level of literature, Mark Twain
advanced a culture as well as a literary revolution (288) and Trilling’s acclaim, “one of the
world’s great books and one of the central documents of American culture” (Arac 112), as
well as Earnest Hemmingway’s reflection, “a work that all modern American writing stems”
(Marx 150) places so much clout on the masterpiece that educators feel that they have no
other option for their American literature sections but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
However, Twain’s use of this dialect has caused more controversy in schools than any other
American author.
Since its publication in 1884 critics have been attacking Mr. Twain’s choice of words
with harsh debates regarding its banishment. In 1885 Massachusetts’ Concord Public Library
barred the book explaining that the masterpiece “… is flippant and irreverent in its style. It
deals with a series of experiences that are certainly not elevating. The whole book is of a
class that is more profitable for the slum than it is for respectable people. And it is trash of
the veriest sort” (Kaplan 373). Today, over 100 years later, this position is still held by critics
all over our country; a dispute that is usually headed by parents, students, and even teachers
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throughout the American public education system. Among the critics that involve themselves
in these challenges the major arguments tend to not be over the undisciplined actions of a
young boy, but because of the racist ideology that is depicted through Twain’s characters. At
first most educated people gasp at such a notion, but when looking closer at the text the
complaints of parents and students could be seen as valid.
Even though Twain’s Adventure had been under attack since publication, the first
mention of tribulations with Huck Finn in the classroom didn’t erupt until 1957; no doubt due
to the Civil Rights movement. Peaches Henry explains that “The presence of black students
in the classrooms of white America, the attendant tensions of a country attempting to come to
terms with its racial tragedies, and the new empowerment of blacks to protest led to Huck
Finn’s greatest struggle with censorship and banning” (26). So maybe it shouldn’t have been
such a big shock that in 1957 the New York City Board of Education removed Huck Finn
from their required reading lists (Kaplan 376). The complaints were due to the recurrence of
the word “nigger”, the minstrel-like representation of the beloved Jim and the other black
characters, as well as the negative outlooks that Twain seemed to assign to all blacks
mentioned in the novel (Henry 27). These charges that were placed against Huck Finn are
still being debated today.
There were a few instances of other school boards taking stabs at Huck Finn in their
own districts but none as influential to today as was John Wallace’s objections in 1982. John
Wallace was an administrator at the Mark Twain Intermediate School in Virginia who headed
a campaign that insisted on removing Huck Finn from the classroom. His main argument is
that “the black child is offended by the use of the word ‘nigger’ anywhere, no matter what
rationale the teacher may use to justify it … projective terms should not be grated any
legitimacy by their use in the classroom under the guise of teaching books or great literary
merit, nor for any other reason” (18). Wallace claims in his argument, “The Case Against
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Huck Finn” that weather it’s a classic or not it should not be used to due the embarrassment
that the black child must undergo during its teachings. He argues that the black child is
embarrassed every time the topic of slavery enters the classroom let alone the term “nigger”.
“Detractors … argue that no amount of intended irony or satire can erase the humiliation
experienced by black children” (Henry 28).
It’s a wonder though what people like Wallace think of the embarrassment that the
white child undergoes when they learn about the disturbing actions of their forefathers. Not
every white person is out to get the black man. Do people like Wallace ever wonder what
white children think of characters like The King and Duke? We need to get over ourselves for
a minute. None the less, Wallace may be right. What white student, teacher, or administrator
could ever place themselves in the black students’ shoes? We have to adhere to the
Fourteenth Amendment in guaranteeing the equal protection of all individuals. When a
student’s learning is paused due to any type of emotionally charged content the
administration must take notice and from that instant some sort of censorship will occur. In
1969 the Miami-Dade Junior College removed the novel for this reason exactly, “the book
creates an emotional block for black students which inhibits learning” (Wallace 17).
Some advocates would rather see the teacher thrown out of the classroom instead of
Huck. Michael Hearn pleads with administrators around the time of Wallace’s war to keep
the book and get rid of the teacher. The outcome of the Mark Twain Intermediate school was
that the classic could be taught, but only with “appropriate planning”. Hearn questions this
decision, “One wonders how it must have been presented before this ruling. The problem is
the teaching, not the novel. How could anyone assign the book and not place it within its
proper historical context? Should any class fail to discuss the humanity of Mark Twain’s
novel, then the school board should keep Huckleberry Finn and chuck the teacher” (Leonard
255). Nat Hentoff, champion advocate for Huck in the classroom, speaks of the ability that
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the book has to bring these racial outlooks mixed up in the classroom. He believes that if
anyone were to come across the problem of racism it should be in a protective environment
where the children can learn from it. “What a way to get Huck and Jim, on the one hand, and
all those white racists they meet, on the other hand, off the pages of the book and into that
very classroom. Talk about a book coming alive!”(Henry 29).
Nevertheless, some say that no matter how it is approached, the effect remains the
same. A 1982 letter to the Times explains to us what the black child is thinking when reading
Huck Finn for class, “ I can still recall the anger and pain I felt as my white classmates read
aloud the word “nigger”…I wanted to sink into my seat. Some of the whites snickered … I
can recall nothing of literary merits of this work that you term the ‘greatest of all American
novels’… (Arac 21). Langston Hughes’ experience with the “n-word” also shows how
emotionality is connected to the term:
The word ‘nigger’ to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull.
Used right or wrongly, ironically or seriously, or necessity for the sake of realism, or
impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn’t matter … The word ‘nigger’, you see,
sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America.
(Henry 30)
The example used the most to support of the fight against Huck is the conversation between
Huck and Aunt Sally about why “Tom” was late getting to her house:
“… We blowed out a cylinder head.”
“Good gracious! anybody hurt?”
“No’m. Killed a nigger.”
“Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people to get hurt…” (Twain 220)
Not many people can explain Twain’s way out of this one. How could anyone ignore Aunt
Sally’s blatant disrespect for people of color? But again, Twain advocates ignore emotions
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and proclaim it’s wonder. I don’t think anyone is denying its greatness, but based on
instances like this we need to decide whether or not to teach this piece in a classroom filled
with highly emotional high school students. It seems to me, though, that the biggest problem
with parents is not that the word is used so much, but because the black man is being
portrayed through the eyes of a white man.
Twain’s depiction of Jim is said to be as realistic as it gets, that’s what makes the
Adventure so great, right? Wrong. A leading argument over the use of Huck Finn in the
classroom is in fact over the historical representation Twain gives us. However, many critics
question whether or not Twain’s interpretation was based on fact or what the white men
illustrated in the minstrel show’s at the time the novel was created. Kaplan’s reason for
disregarding the attackers case is that to him it is absurd for any intelligent person who
actually read it could see it as racist; “The characters belong to their place and time, which is
the Mississippi Valley before Emancipation” (378). Kaplan is correct but many would
disagree that the way Twain’s black characters are presented are in fact a figment of the
white man’s imagination.
Ralph Ellison’s essay, “Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke”, explains the outlook of
the minstrel mask that Twain’s audience would have expected to see upon the face of any
black character and argues:
Twain was writing at a time when black-faced minstrel was still popular, and shortly
after a war which left even the abolitionists weary of the problems associated with the
Negro. Twain fitted Jim into the outlines of the minstrel tradition, and it is from
behind this stereotype mask that we see Jim’s dignity and human capacity – and
Twain’s complexity – emerge. (Leonard 4).
Julius Lester’s essay “Morality and Adventures of Huck Finn” also maintains that Twain does
not “take slavery, and therefore black people seriously”(365) and thus depicts a naive Jim,
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“who also lacks self- respect, dignity, and a sense of self separate from the one whites want
him to have”(367).
Fredrick Woodard and Donnarae MacCann cite the conversation between Huck and
Jim about the French as verification Twain’s minstrel portrayal of a “darky”: “Why, Huck,
doan’ de French people talk de same way we does?”(Twain 79-80). “Though Jim’s logic is
superior to Huck’s … the scene plays like a minstrel-show act because Jim has the
information-base of a child” (Henry 33). When speaking of this allegation MacCann and
Woodard refer to Twain himself deeming the debate “happy and accurate imitations of the
usual and familiar negro quarrel” (Henry 33). Advocates, on the other hand, state that in this
instance Twain is using the discussion “as an ideological critique of white supremacy”
(Leonard 122). Steven Mailloux is noted by Peaches Henry to be such an advocate and
Mailloux reminds us that when Huck stops the debate by saying, “You can’t learn a nigger to
argue. So I quit” (Twain 80), Jim is shown to have superior skills in argumentation. We know
that Huck is giving up, not because of Jim’s ignorance, but because Jim has learned to argue
by imitating Huck. Mailloux realizes this fact and undoubtedly states that “readers reject the
racial slur as [Huck’s] rationalization” (Henry 35), or do they?
Today you would be lucky to find Huck in any classroom up to 8th grade and the still
heavily debated topic is now projected towards its use in high school and even college level
courses. The Freedom Forum, an online newspaper that focuses on the First Amendment,
asked dozens of English professors during a discussion, "The Censorship of Huck Finn,"
presented by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt and the Tennessee Performing Arts
Center, what they thought about teaching Huckleberry Finn today. Most of the responses
were the same; warnings for everyone to “use extreme caution”. Professor Laura C. Jarmon,
an English professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, says problems start when the
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book is taught on the elementary and high school levels because many teachers do not fully
understand the book themselves.
I have had students at the senior level in college who have a hard time understanding
the concept of irony. Then two years later they graduate and go into the public
schools ... and they're going to teach this book? They can't begin to refer in any
accurate fashion to what it feels like in an integrated situation for that little black
child to hear the word 'nigger' repeated. (Harris)
Michael Kreyling, director of graduate studies in the English Department at Vanderbilt
University, explains that "it tells us more about what American culture is and the rails on
which it moves and the language — both overt and covert — that it uses to arrange reality
than other books of its time, and that's why we still teach it. It still works. It still pushes the
right buttons. That's why we still have to keep teaching it” (Harris).
We are thankfully still teaching Huck Finn, but only a very limited version to a very
limited number of students. I can’t help but wonder what is going to happen to the world if
we keep deleting emotionally charging material out of the classroom. What would we have
left to teach? The problem is that one day the answer to this question could very much well
be “nothing”. The rhetorical purpose of literature is to make you feel something. The ancient
Greeks knew it 2500 years ago and we use to praise works for achieving this goal; much like
we praise Twain for writing something over 100 years ago that is still on the top 5 of
America’s most illicit books. Mr. Twain would be so proud. However, banishment isn’t the
same today as it was in 1984. It seems like everyone is so sensitive that we have to ban
everything that produces thought. There are two major consequences that arise due to the
prohibition of this classic. One, students get curious about all of the “hubbub” and read it on
their own, not realizing the satiric nature that Twain intended. And two, they don’t read it at
all. Are we really taking a closer step towards equality or creating ourselves a Fahrenheit
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451? And which is more important? Yes, everyone would feel “happy”, but what comes after
that? Maybe we should just start at the beginning again and actually read Twain’s “Notice”
this time around.
Works Cited:
Arac, Jonathan. Huckleberry Finn As Idol and Target: The Functions of Criticism in Our
Time. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.
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Elliot, T.S. “The Boy and the River: Without Beginning or End”. A Case Study in Critical
Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Eds. Gerald Graff and James Phelan.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.285-289.
Harris, Eugene. "Huck Finn still pushes buttons, professor says." The Freedom Forum Online
21 August 2000. 25 Mar 2005 <www.freedomforum.org>.
Henry, Peaches. “The Struggle for Tolerance: Race and Censorship in Huckleberry Finn.
Satire of Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Eds. James S. Leonard,
Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M. Davis. Durham: Duke University Press,
1992.25-48.
Kaplan, Justin. “Born to Trouble: One Hundred Years of Huckleberry Finn”. A Case Study
in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Eds. Gerald Graff and
James Phelan. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 371-381.
Leonard, James S., and Thomas A. Tenney and Thadious M. Davis. Satire or Evasion? Black
Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Durham: Duke University Press, 1992.
Lester, Julius. “Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. A Case Study in Critical
Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Eds. Gerald Graff and James Phelan.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.362-370.
Marx, Leo. "Huck at 100". The Nation 31 August 1985:150-152. EBSCOhost. Louis L.
Manderino Library: California University of Pennsylvania. 25 Mar 2005
<www.library.cup.edu>.
Mensh, Elaine, and Harry Mensh. Black, White and Huckleberry Finn: Re-imagining the
American Dream. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. NY: Bantom Dell, 1981
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Wallace, John H. “The Case Against Huck Finn”. Satire of Evasion? Black Perspectives on
Huckleberry Finn. Eds. James S. Leonard, Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M.
Davis. London: Duke University Press, 1992. 16-24.