The basic arguement of my essay will be as follows: Huck Finn is racist in it's setting, but the ideas in the book and the interactions of the main characters are very anti-racist. Unfortunately most high-school students are idiots. (No offense to anyone here) Because of this general idioticy most high school students, especially ones who don't have Huck Finn taught to them properly, aren't going to get this anti-racism. So a lot of them will inevitably end up being offended. So I think that this book should be taught in schools for a few reasons, they being: #1 Everyone who reads it will gain from it. People who get the anti-racism get to read a great book, and enjoy the colorful vernacular that makes this book so fun. The people who get offended because they think it is racist, will get to be offended. This is good because what point is an education that never causes you to be offended? What good is going to high school and learning how to live in the world if you never learn how to be offended. The world is always going to throw insults around, and will always try to beat you down. Thats just the way the world works. So why would we not want our high school students to learn how to handle being offended? It's an essential life skill. If we let ourselves learn to run away from offense then is that really going to create a strong populace? #2 is that for those who understand, or are taught to properly there is a beautiful novel to enjoy. Not only is the book an outstanding anti-slavery novel, but it is also (and i say this without sarcasm) a heartwarming tale of love and courage. Plus that vernacular is really fun!
So the general outline of my paper will be as follows:
My first page or two will be used to argue my point that the book is very anti-slavery. I will use the scenes of huck tearing the letter, the third trick played on Jim (the one where Huck humbles himself to a nigger), and will compare the early characterization of Jim to the tricks that the King and Duke play as they travel down the river.
After setting that up, I will use the movie and critics to set up that there are many people who find the book offensive. Then I will argue that the racism is because of the time period. Then I will transition to my arguement that it should be taught in schools, and that people should be offended. that arguement should get me 3-4 pages, so with a brief and admittedly underveloped conclusion I should arrive at 5-6 1/2 pages.
The fact that the racism or lack thereof in Huck Finn has been debated for over one hundred years leans toward the argument that those who don't see your side are not necessarily idiots. If there was such a clear answer as you propose the debate would have been settled a century ago.
ReplyDeleteLobo,
ReplyDeleteI like the approach to this essay, but I agree with Max's caution about not being overly flip in the paper itself (you can't simply dismiss those who find the book offensive as idiots). However, you CAN claim that the inherent racism in the novel is both ineluctable (given the time period and the setting) and essential (without it, what could Huck overcome, and what model of racial enlightenment could he offer today's students).
I worry, too, that you're being a little presumptive in championing the book a "great" and a "beautiful novel". Your going to have to make this case (i.e. argue its literary merits) every bit as convincingly as you do the argument that the book's racism actually recommends it for the high school curriculum.