White Boy And Black Man example essay topic

Katherine Linzy HawseyLiteratureMonday - Thursday, 8 am 05-23-05 My response to: Born To Trouble Why is Race A Big Issue? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an incredible novel. It is hard to believe that people would protest against it, but they do. Mark Twain set his story twenty years before the Civil War, during the slave era. It is written just as everyone spoke at that time, using the word "nigger".

This book uses the word a lot, which has upset many African-Americans. I believe that the word can be obscene, but in this book it is not. It only shows the reality of that time. I consider this book to be one of the greatest books I have read. It is actually inspired by Twain's own experiences living on the Mississippi River.

Many people consider Twain to have been a racist. Although he uses the word "nigger", it does not mean that he was racist. If people would look past the word and actually see the story, they would realize that he is writing of a white boy and a black man who run away and start a journey together. If Twain was such a racist, then why does the story have the white boy and black man together? People think that he is racist just because he uses the word, but in that time, that is how people spoke. In present time, we will not see a black slave working in a white person's home; but we will hear the word in almost every rap song there is.

Many people use the word, but they probably don't know where or why the word became what it is now. The word started out as Negro in the north, during that time; but in the south, people put the southern dialect on the end and said "nigger". I wish that people would look at this book as what it actually is, impressive. People cannot take into mind that "nigger" was a word used every day at that time. I do not think that Twain was trying to hurt anyone, instead, I think he was trying show that a black man was just as equal to a white man. I think that in the book, Huck shows a lot of respect for Jim, even though Jim is black.

Also, Huck became very close to him. In my opinion, if a black person takes being called "nigger" so hard from someone of a different race, then it should offend them when someone from there own race says it. Considering this is such a great story, people should try to realize that if Twain would have written The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn any other way, then it would not portray the reality of that time. Only if people could take it for how life used to be, at that time, then there would not be so much controversy over this book. I do not understand how people who have not read the story can take offense to it. Instead, all people see is the word "nigger".

In my opinion, a person that refuses to read this story because of the language, but will then turn around and use that same language within their own race are being hypocritical and prejudice. Everyone should give this good book a chance. The word is not used disrespectfully. I believe that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a brilliant novel and should never be banned from any school's reading assignments.