Prejudice and Racism in Huckleberry Finn Essay - 1265 Words

Huckleberry Finn: The Immorality of Racism A majority of people in American society believe that school systems must teach children that racism is morally wrong. Often, however, tension has builds over how to teach this important lesson. Unfortunately, a controversy has built over the teaching of Huckleberry Finn. Although some believe that Mark Twains novel perpetuates racist feelings, in fact Twain uses the characters to demonstrate the immorality of slavery. Miss Watson and Pap, the reprehensible objects of Twains satire, demonstrate the racist views that society takes towards slaves. The slave Jim, who may appear stereotypically ignorant, in reality represents the true goodness and humanity which society impedes upon†¦show more content†¦Petersburg. Ironically, however, they believe that they are superior to slaves. Miss Watson, due to the fact that she owns slaves, places her by moral standards at the bottom of the St. Petersburg hierarchy. Pap, due to the fact that he is poor and uneducated, is at the l owest point on the social ladder. Although Miss Watson attempts to sivilize (13) and Pap attempts to Take (Huck) down a peg (31), they each have the same mindset that slaves are inferior. Twain satirically shows that Miss Watson is full of hypocrisy because she preaches to Huck about how she is going to live so as to go to the good place (16), yet she owns slaves. Twain also shows his distaste for racism by portraying Paps ignorance. Pap, boasting his believe that he is superior to blacks, ignorantly states, This is a wonderful govment... There was a free nigger there... a mulatter... And that aint the wurst... They said he could vote... Thinks I, what is this country a-coming to?... I was just about to go and vote, myself, if I warnt too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a state in this country where theyd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says Ill never vote agin (39). The fact that Pap refers to the slaves as niggers showsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Prejudice and Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn833 Words   |  4 PagesPrejudice and Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn      Ã‚   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an excellent example of racism in literature, because it uses language describing African Americans which goes beyond satire.   It treats them as objects and perpetuates stereotypes. It does not expose and deal with racism, as many advocates of its reading claim, but encourages an attitude of superiority that is unnecessary and intolerable. 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