I am going to bring up the word “N*****.” Ms. Harford warned us it would show up a lot and it has not disappointed yet. Is the word used with racist intent throughout the book and is Mark Twain a "racist writer"? Today, the word symbolizes hate and the term is so strong that the use of n***** in most situations is a social taboo in English-speaking countries. The book has captivited me and I have made some conjectures about the question based on what I have read. The book was set 20 years before the civil war and it would be amazing if the characters didn't use that word. To the second part of the question, whether Mark Twain is a racist writer, I would object strongly to that too because Huck changes as the book proceeds; he gains a lot of respect for Jim. He starts out believing that slavery is part of the natural order, but he changes his beliefs. He fights his consciousness and does what he believes is right, which is to help his friend Jim escape.
posted by Adnan J.
Note: In order to ensure that our blog can be accessed through the school computer network, I did not spell out the word in question.
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It is always important to remember that an author can create characters who believe (and say) totally different things from what the author him or herself thinks!
ReplyDeleteI am going to address two points based on this post. The first is the usage of the word N*****. Many people say that it is used as a hate word, which is true, but it has many different meanings. In the black community it is the same as other terms such as "bro", "dude", "dawg", etc. But when somebody other than black descent uses it toward a black person, they usually feel offended. It is somewhat hypocritical because by using it so much as a "common" word, they lead other people to using it. The word can never "rid" of its racist interpretation if its usage isn't decreased. Another point that I am going to address is whether Mark Twain is racist or not. I do not believe he is racist, especially just because his usage of the word N*****. At the in which the book was written, N***** was such a widely used term. I believe Twain used it similarly to the word "slave" or "black man". Some critics say that it was meant to be racist and ask why he would write that if he wasn't racist. The fact is that he is a writer and what writers write is always what they mean or how they feel. During the time N***** was used by almost everybody, even those who sympathized slaves.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the way that word is used in the book was natural for that time period. Mark Twain was not a racist at all I believe. To be a great writer I believe you always have to be connected with that time period and Mark Twain used the word n***** because it was constantly used back then. It was a word which was a normal vocabulary word for the whites. It makes more realistic if the characters do use that word.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Mark Twian was being racist. Hes just tryin to show the reader how African Americans were called during this time period. Also i don't think is racist to use it becuase today many people reffer to each other in that manner and it's not considered disrespect. Shireen B.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David and everyone else. The way I see it, that word was used in the book just as another way to say "a black person", as least with Huck. There were definitely other people who used it in a derogatory way. But yes, whenever Huck uses the word, he's not trying to insult Jim. He's simply referring to him the way white people referred to blacks in the pre-Civil War era. Back then, it might have been controversial for Huck to call Jim "that black guy" instead of "that n*****".
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with the author of this blog post. It would not be viable for Mark Twain to dispel the N word from use in the novel. The fact is the N word was used extensively twenty years previous to the Civil war to refer to Slaves and African Americans. Mark Twain had the responsibility to develop a time accurate and realistic setting for the novel, and in doing so it was necessary to use common language from the time period thus, the N word. The N word was not used with a racist intent on the part of the author. Mark Twain used the N word to evoke a sense of sympathy and understanding in the reader for the conditions which Jim faced as a slave. Mark Twain could not conceal the impure nature of the racist south when writing about the eighteen forties, and had to include he N word in the novel. Mark Twain's true sentiments are conveyed in Huck Finn's character. Huck Finn was not racist, he was indoctrinated with the idea slavery was natural and African Americans were subservient to Caucasians. However, Huck learns otherwise and eventually helps his friend Jim escape to freedom. Derek J. W
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