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Essay, 4 pages (1000 words)

Huckleberry finn

The controversy for the novel “ The Adventures Huckleberry Finn” has a long history. Published in 1885, some people call this book “ The Great American Novel”, though others find it to be horrible. It can be debated about why it should be banned and is harmful, but many people go through great lengths to see it taken off library shelves and banned from schools. Youre probably wondering “ why is this book such a big deal” Besides the fact that it states the word nigger over 200 times many people find it racist, obscene, includes bad grammar and also has a low moral tone. The main reason for this whole controversy is because of racism throughout the book. This novel was written during the time where racism was “ normal” in the south, yet many African Americans get offended by this word. For instance, at Renton High School, in 2003, an infuriated parent objected to her child reading this book because it “ offended the familys religious, moral or political sensibilities”, according to Seattlepi. com.

The student- Calista Phair- and her grandmother-Beatrice Clark- both dont see the “ n” word as just a word. “ It carries with it the blood of our ancestors. They were called this word while they were lynched; they were called this word while they were hung from the big magnolia tree” says Clark. They find it to be a degrading word to them as African Americans. “ I was humiliated and horrified that this book was being taught, when it has the word nigger 215 times,” Phair said. The “ n” word has a huge affect on many African Americans, it has a long history, and not a good one. According to Clark the word “ nigger” doesnt change, it will always have the same meaning and it is not educational for kids. As you can see Calista Phair and her family were definitely offended and horrified that they were reading this book at the high school, which is why they fought the school to get it banned.

They have had vigorous arguments against the book with the school board, though it was not banned the assignment was postponed. They are no the only people that feel this way, a lot of other people feel this way about this book and mainly African Americans because it was part of their past, such as their ancestors, family etc. A various amount of other people have tried to get this book banned from schools, libraries etc. because it personall bothers them. Another reason why people feel this book should be banned is the language/dialect.

This book was written very long ago, so the dialect an grammar is a huge problem and some people think it is “ trash”. The dialect in this book is southern so there is a lot of bad grammar like the word “ yall” which definitely counts as bad grammar because it is not proper English. Many people believe that it is another reason that it does not teach students anything useful. Parents want the children to be taught useful information, and to a lot of people “ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is not useful, which is why it is a never ending controversy. Against: As I was explaining before the novel “ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a huge controversy.

It offends many Americans, but as I also said, some view this as “ The Great American Novel”. Freedom of speech is the first of the amendments rights. There may be racism in this book but like I stated before this book was written at the time when slavery and the “ n” word was okay in the south. The controversy for why it should not be banned is simple, freedom of speech, which includes being able to read whatever you want or might find useful for you. Reasons why many people get offended has to do with something personal but people should understand that it was written extremely long ago and they cant change the past. We can never forget about the past, so much have changed and people have to look at that.

The “ n” word is used extremely differently in the modern days, even though back then it was used in a very mean way. I can see why people get offended by the “ n” word but its life, if it offends them then they should not read the book and it is not any ones position to say whether the book should be banned or not. I get it if people get mad if it was written recently, but it was not. Its all about understanding and seeing it at a certain perspective. We cat run away from the past, yes the n” word is not a good word but it was a part of this society which is when this book was written. Reading this book is basically learning how people used to speak and treat African Americans, there is not anything wrong with reading it.

1885 was a long time ago, over a century ago actually. Whatever went on back then is not going on now, people have a right to be offended and speak their opinions but they need to realize that the “ n” word was used for African Americans, which is why it is used so much in this book. Also since 1885 English language has really advanced, even in the south, and that was the dialect that was used so therefor thats why this novel has such “ bad grammar”. Schools, libraries, and people have a right to read this book if they want to. Many people may not believe that this book is useful, but it is and as you can see it really makes us think and want to learn more about the past and be glad that America has evolved greatly. Freedom of Speech is important here in America, and having this book banned is breaking that amendment which is not a good thing. There are flaws in this book, but no book is perfect everyone is going to disagree if a book is good or not.

This is just a huge controversy because it includes racism, but as I said it was written in a time of racism and thats what need to be considered in this never ending controversy.

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