Why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included in a high school curriculum

Essay by kcmoz10146High School, 11th gradeA-, May 2005

download word file, 2 pages 5.0

Throughout the past century in high schools across the nation, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by the renown author Samuel Clemens (known primarily as Mark Twain), has been read by teenagers such as myself. This novel is a part of American literature and should always be included in a high school curriculum. The book has some coarse language, but only in order to make the story more real. There are some controversial issues, and some people say that Huck Finn should be banned from schools everywhere. Unfortunately, most people do not know good literature when they first see it.

One of the main reasons that some adults would like this classic to be banned is because of the language that is deemed inappropriate in today's world. Words such as "nigger" were used in the book, not in order to be racist, but only in order to make the reader feel like they are part of the story itself.

The children that are part of it are not respectful and do not set a very good example for younger children in today's world. This is, however, how these kids really were back in Twain's day. He is just attempting to show the reader that life was much different and there are many important lessons learned in Huck Finn. Obviously, the adventures that Huck goes on are not what most teenagers would do today, but they teach him values of life. These values of life are timeless and everyone today can learn from them. Of course, the language is probably not necessary, however it does provide the correct images from Twain's time period.

Although the racist language and themes are the main concern of parents when considering Huck Finn, they are also upset with the fact that the novel...