sheba's blog

huckleberry finn: the great american novel

 abuse

A literary friend asked me the other day what I think about teaching “Huckleberry Finn” in high schools. His suggestion was that this great American novel is not being taught because of “political correctness”. Since I have generally found the term “politically correct” to be a meaningless term usually used to condemn whatever the writer wants to condemn, I thought some about why a teacher or a school might be hesitant to teach Huck Finn, and how I would want to see it taught.

First of all, I’d like to see it taught by somebody who really understands the meaning of the book. I’d want to see it taught in the context of its time, with some understanding of the real relationship between well meaning white people and black slaves. I’d like to make sure that the teacher puts into context what it meant for a slave to be “sold down the river”, away from one’s family and often into conditions of frightful cruelty.

I’d want the teacher to get beyond the “N” word (which is the thing in the book that is hardest for most of us to get beyond) to who Jim was - the most noble, kindest, and gentlest character in the book. He needs to be compared to Huck, Tom and the other white characters in his love of family, his self sacrifice, and his refusal to stoop to evil to gain his freedom. The relationship between Huck and Jim needs to be made clear; for instance, why was Huck ashamed of his love for Jim, when Jim wasn’t in the least embarrassed about his love for Huck? Students need to see what it means that Tom Sawyer, who knew Jim was already free, was willing to subject him to all sorts of torment, because that was fun for Tom. It wasn’t fun for Jim, but his feelings were not taken into consideration. Tom was having an adventure!

If I were teaching the book to a roomful of teenagers, I think that, before the students even opened the book I’d begin the discussion, by saying, "There is a word used in this book that is so offensive that I can't even bring myself to say it aloud. It is a word that should offend every person, no matter what race or ethnic group they come from. When you first read this book, it may be hard to get past this very offensive word. So let's take some time to discuss why Mark Twain uses this word, commonly referred to as the "N-word".  

“This is a book that deals, among other issues, with slavery. One of the main characters is a slave named Jim, who is trying to escape from his owner. Why do you think Mark Twain uses this word to refer to Jim? Does he mean to be insulting?" Then I would lead the discussion from there. 

However, if the book were to be taught, as it so often is, as a children’s book that does nothing but tell of the adventures of a young boy making a raft trip on the Mississippi River, then I agree – it should not be taught at all. Not because of “political correctness”, whatever that means, but because it is too fine a book to be subjected to mauling in the hands of the ignorant.