The use of different dialects in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain detracts from the significance of the novel. Many argue the use of different dialects based on the location of a character adds color and depth to the story. I fully reject these sentiments. To fully comprehend the novel, a reader must be knowledgeable in the art of decryption, and spend an hour and a half to decrypt one page of the book. I am an intelligent person, however find it difficult to decrypt even a paragraph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without devoting substantial time to that process. It does not help that I am not familiar with unconventional speech, I do not use slang. I understand that an individual familiar with the dialect used in Huckleberry Finn would have no problem discerning the message of the book, though it would be difficult to believe that that person would be even able to read or write (excluding Mark Twain of course). Mark Twain brings up a few good points pertaining to human nature, racism and morality, though the dialect detracts from the meaning of the book so much, I feel having read this book makes me worse off than if I had not read the book. Mark Twain would be more effective writing a simple paragraph in conventional English, briefly explaining his underlying message about human nature, racism and morality. In general I do not like the genre of fiction in any way, shape or form. Fiction is not entertaining or intriguing. I believe a book should be straight forward and to the point, like in non fiction books. Even though The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass is overrated, the book has a clear meaning and improves the mentality of the reader, contrary to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Posted by Derek J. W.
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I think that using humor and satire in the guise of fiction to teach people about their flaws and faults is usually more effective than just preaching to them! People are more willing to learn lessons and recognize their own problems if you disguise the criticism in humor. When you confront people directly, they just get defensive and frustrated. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," as they say.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a major problem with the dialect except when Jim talked and I felt like I was Hooked on Ebonics. Jim's lines took me along time to decipher, only to find out that it said something else completely. However, I do think the dialect adds realism to the book and makes the characters distinct.
ReplyDeleteMikaela M.
I DISAGREE WITH YOU DEREK. I BELEIVE THAT THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN THIS FORM BECAUSE THAT IS HOW THEY MIGHT'VE SPOKEN AT THAT TIME. I BELIEVE YOU ARE AN INTELLIGENT
ReplyDeletePERSON, BUT I FIND THAT DECRYPTING DIFFICULT PARAGRAPHS CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH AS WELL AS THE UNDERSTANDING OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.
I understand that the wording of Huck Finn was difficult, however, I believe that people spend more time looking at the word rather than trying to sound it out. I felt as if the dialect placed me write in the middle of a Southern town square. Yet, I do agree with mikaela that Jim's speech was the hardest to comprehend.
ReplyDeletekayla