"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", by Mark Twain, is number five on the most 100 challenged books list which is absurd. In fact, it is one of the most important additions to a school's curriculum, but shadowed by divisive arguments on whether kids should read it. (Powell) It shows Huck's struggle to decide whether slavery is wrong or not, who is accompanied by a runaway slave, Jim, who ran away the same night as Huck. It isn't one of those read and test and then it's out of your brain books. Huck Finn is one of the epic books that stay in the mind long after reading, if it is taught correctly. It triggers discussions that make people realize that racism is still alive today.
Most of the people arguing about whether or not Huck Finn should be included are either people who haven't read the book, or because of the notorious "n" word.
The cover of the first edition of Adventures of Hu...
Illustration of Jim and Huckleberry Finn, by EW Ke...
1885 illustration from Mark Twain's Adventures of ...Most people nowadays who argue an opinion will only listen (or read) what they want to hear (or see). After parents hear mention of the "n" word in their son's/daughter's book, they immediately think it should be banned. If someone tells a parent to read the book, most will just go through and count how many times the "n" word is used, instead of focusing on plot or Twain's depiction of society in that time period. Even people who weren't racist in Twain's childhood time called African Americans the "n" word. That is one of the reasons this book is so good, the intimacy that Twain wrote it and was able to recall events from his childhood so well. Every time the reader reads the "n" word, he/she gets pulled further and further into Twain's time period.
Also, this book is banned because of...