Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Should be Taught in High School Classrooms

Because…Shows how far we have come to have equal rights todayGives more insight into pre civil war racism in the SouthGives students a reason to be accepting of all races

Quote #1Huck: “We blowed out a cylinder-head.”Aunt Sally: “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?”Huck: “No’m. Killed a nigger.”Aunt Sally: “Well it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.”Pg. 167 2nd paragraph

o Shows the extent of the racism

o Aunt Sally didn’t even care that a black man died. She didn’t even consider the dead black man a person.

o Shows slaves and black people to be far inferior to whites

Quote #2Tom: “Don’t you reckon I know what I’m about? Don’t I generly know what I’m about?”Huck: “Yes.”Tom: “Didn’t I say I was going to help steal the nigger?”Huck: “Yes.”Tom: “Well then.”Pg. 176-177 Las paragraph on pg. 176

Shows how the N-word is common languageThe word is used here just to refer to a slave as opposed to the word being directed at a slave.It’s common language as opposed to an insult

Quote #3Jim: “I ‘uz hungry, but I warn’t afeared: bekase I knowed ole mussus en de widder wuz goin’ to start to de campmeetn’ right arter breakfas’ en be gone all day, en dey knows I goes off place, en so dey wouldn’ miss me tell arter dark in de evenin’”pg. 33 3rd paragraph

Jim is hard to understand

Shows him to be… InferiorDumbUneducated

Quote #4King: “Mf! And we reckoned the niggers stole!”

Pg.156 2nd paragraph

King is quick to blame the slaves for stealing the Wilks’ moneyShows how society thought poorly of slaves

They had sticky fingers ready to steal anything from others

Jocelyn ChaddwickJocelyn Chaddwick is a Graduate School of Education ProfessorShe believes Huck Finn should be taught in high schoolsIt sparks important debates about race that need to be addressed, but are usually hard to talk about

Jocelyn Chaddwick is rightHuck Finn offers several great lessons that need to be taught

Article: “Should Huck Finn be Taught?”

Helps break stereotypesIn a high school hallway, you hear worse than what is in the book

BibliographyPowell, Alvin. "Fight over Huck Finn Continues: Ed School Professor Wages Battle for Twain Classic." Home - Harvard Public Affairs & Communications. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/09.28/huckfinn.html.

L., Michelle. "Should Huck Finn Be Taught?" Blogspot.com. 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://gerber319.blogspot.com/2008/01-should-huck-finn-be-taught_30.html>.