Reflection of Huckleberry Finn from the Racial/Cultural Lens

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place during the 1840’s in the American South, before the Civil War, where slavery was still very common and not thought of as wrong. Reading through the racial/cultural lens, the novel focuses on Whites and African Americans and mainly on the relationships they have compared to the relationships they are ‘supposed’ to have. Reading Huck Finn shows the reader a unique view on slavery and African Americans at that time. You can clearly see how they were treated at this time through Huck’s talk about slavery and African Americans, as well as personal experiences and stories by Jim, a runaway slave. The unique part about this book that is different from most books about slavery in the American South, is that it is from Huck’s point of view, who is around 13-14 years old during the time of the novel. This allows you to see how a child would have felt about slavery during this time.

Huckleberry Finn is not a normal child, considering he was always rebellious, had a messed up family life, and ended up faking his murder in order to run away from his dad, however, he is still just a kid who has conflicting feelings about what is right and wrong; slavery in particular. You can see this when Huck is debating on whether to turn Jim into the police like he ‘should’ do based on how he was raised, or not betray him as he feels it is not fair or ‘right’. He contemplates, “I begun to get it through my head that he was most free - and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I couldn’t get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way. … What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her n----- go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? … I got to feeling so mean and miserable I most wished I was dead” (Twain 75). Here Huck for the first time realizes that he is actually helping Jim run away and how he could be blamed for his escape. This confuses him because he hasn’t thought about it before until now and he then feels guilty and mean for helping him run away. However, he also doesn’t want to turn Jim in because he is his only friends and companion right now. “Jim: Huck, you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now. Huck: I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him, but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me. I went along slow and I warn’t right down certain whether I was glad I started or whether I warn’t. … I just felt sick.” Huck shows how he wants to do what is ‘right’ but he doesn’t quite know what that is. He wants to do what is right by the standards of White people and how he was raised to treat African Americans, but at the same time, he knows that turning Jim in is not what is right as well because he didn’t do anything wrong to deserve that.

In situations like this during that time, a lot of White people had the power and would have felt in control and had turned Jim in to the police because that is what they saw was ‘right’. Seeing Huck contemplate on whether or not to turn Jim in is a new and unique way of looking at slavery back then and how not every White person wanted to treat every African American the way they were ‘supposed to’ or raised to. It is also interesting to see Huck seriously contemplating what is ‘right’ by the standards of society when he wants nothing to do with society, yet it is such as strong belief and issue for White people that it affects him just the same.

Close Reading into Huck Finn in the Racial/Cultural Lens

“Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free n----- there, from Ohio, a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat, and there ain’t a man in that town that’s got as fine as clothes as what he had; and he has a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane--the awfulest old grey-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? they said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain’t the wust. They said he could vote, when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the county a-coming to? It was ‘lection day, and I was just about to vote, myself, if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that n----- vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote agin. Them’s the very words I said; they all heard me; and the country may rot for all of me--I’ll never vote agin as long as I live. And to see the cool way of the n----- why, he wouldn't a give me the road if I hadn't shoved him out o’ the way. I says to the people, why ain’t this n----- put up at auction and sold?-- that’s what I want to know. And what do you reckon they said? Why, they said he couldn't be sold till he’d been in the State six months, and he hadn't been there that long yet. There, now--that’s a specimen. They call that a govment that can’t sell a free n----- till he’s been in the State six months. Here’s a govment that’s got to set stockstill for six whole months before it can take ahold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free n-----" (Twain 24-25).

• Here Huckleberry Finn’s father shows strong emotions and opinions about other races. He repeatedly states how the government is corrupt because it is allowing people of color to be more free and do more things such as voting. He explains how he was heading over to vote and saw an African American man in line to vote. He thought this was preposterous and argued with the man that it was not right and other harmful slander to discourage him. This clearly shows how people of color were viewed and treated in the South back then, and how bad it could get. I think it is important to note that the African American was described as having the “whitest shirt you ever see, and the shiniest hat, and there ain’t a man in that town that’s got as fine as clothes as what he had” (Twain 24). This means that he saw the African American as superior, or at least acting superior, and he immediately started to argue with him and discriminate him. This is a clear example of how many white people back then had felt. They thought that freeing or giving more power to African Americans would allow them to become equal or superior and they didn’t want anyone to come in between them and their power, especially people of color. This whole excerpt is Huckleberry Finn’s father complaining about the government and whining to Huckleberry about his problems and worries. Earlier, Huckleberry explains that his father is drunk and that could enhance his thoughts to become more angry, but it also means that he had no filter to say what he had been afraid to say otherwise but always thought. Overall, his father was discriminating and discouraging people of color in a very harsh way and it reflects how they were treated back then and in a way reflects how white people always thought about people of color but only a few, such as Huckleberry Finn's father, would really say what they thought aloud.

Close Reading: Marx

“Why, my boy, you are all out of breath. Did you come for your interest?”
“No, sir,” I says; “is there some for me?”
“Oh, yes, a half-yearly is in last night—over a hundred and fifty
dollars. Quite a fortune for you. You had better let me invest it along
with your six thousand, because if you take it you’ll spend it.”
“No, sir,” I says, “I don’t want to spend it. I don’t want it at all—nor
the six thousand, nuther. I want you to take it; I want to give it
to you—the six thousand and all.”
He looked surprised. He couldn’t seem to make it out. He says:
“Why, what can you mean, my boy?”
I says, “Don’t you ask me no questions about it, please. You’ll take
it—won’t you?”
He says:
“Well, I’m puzzled. Is something the matter?”
“Please take it,” says I, “and don’t ask me nothing—then I won’t
have to tell no lies.”
He studied a while, and then he says:
“Oho-o! I think I see. You want to SELL all your property to me—
not give it. That’s the correct idea.”
Then he wrote something on a paper and read it over, and says: "There- you see it says 'for a consideration'. That means I have bought
it of you and paid you for it. Here's a dollar for you. Now you sign it" So I signed it and left”

The preceding passage clearly demonstrate Twain’s belief that some virulent cultures will not let people leave, Twain uses the example of the town judge, Mr Thatcher to represent societal leaders in general when the man, who has taken on the role as money manager for the town, tries to stop Huck from rebelling against the culture of their rural village and forces his values upon him.
One such value is the heavy focus around money when it comes to self worth. that this is a part of the judge’s culture is undeniable.When Huck tries to give up his money Twain describes him as "surprised" and "unable to make out" why Huck would ever want to give up such riches. Thatcher doesn't stop at misunderstanding, he quickly moves to cut off Huck’s act of rebellion.
This conflict stems from a simple rebellion, Huck is trying to abandon a society that he feels has abandoned him. In this society it is perfectly acceptable for a man of the judge’s stature to tell Huck what to Huck wants to do. The judge even assumes to tell huck what he would do when he explicitly tells Huck that "if [Huck] took it [he] might spend [the money]". The Judge mold’s Huck’s very act of rejection into something he can understand, a sale, a simple matter of him " [buying] it and paid [him] for it";
Together these actions paint a clear picture of a society that oppresses its members into forced conformity.

Psychoanalytic lens #1

I chose the psychoanalytic lens as the critical lens for this project, because I want to go more into depth on the why the characters act a certain way. The psychoanalytic lens goes into the characters actions based off of their inner thoughts; such as their unconscious thoughts. This can include their desires and the certain defenses they have. These unconscious thoughts, desires, and defenses determine how the character acts and reacts to certain situations. Also through this lens I will be analyzing the Id (the subconscious), the ego (the conscious), and the superego (the decision making part of the brain). This lens interests me more than the others, because I would like to know why certain characters act a certain way. I have not had much experience with topics that are covered by this lens, but I do know the general overview and it was basically curiosity that caused me to want to go through this lens. Another lens I considered going into was the feminist lens, because in that time period women did not have that many rights, so it would have been interesting to compare it to a modern day situation. I am hoping to be able to go deeper into the book and actually possibly enjoy it, because I will be looking at it through a lens that I am actually interested in.

Cultural Lense #1- Matt Khoury

I decided to go with the racial/cultural lens for this project. Although there is going to be a lot of overlap with the historical lens, I believe that the racial lens sets itself apart enough to provide a different perspective. The racial/cultural lens provides context as to how different cultures are viewed, treated, and seen in both literature and the time period in which that literature was written. Race and culture was and is extremely prevalent. In light of recent events, I decided to pick this lens to see how different and similar the eras are. Sharing the perspective of someone who doesn’t come from the same background as the author should provide an interesting perspective.

Historical Lens Journal Entry #1

     I wanted to look at the adventures of huckleberry Finn through the historical critical lens because I wanted to learn more about the time era in which the book was written. From a quick google search, I know that the adventures of huckleberry Finn was written in 1884. I would like to learn how many of the main historical events shaped Mark twain’s writing. The time frame in which this book was written will be the cause for why characters and setting are the way they are. Overall I am quite excited to make these connection. I would like to understand Mark twains thinking and I think a more in depth analysis of the time frame will allow me to do so. By analyzing the decade defining moments I might be able to understand why twain made the writing decisions that he did. Apart from looking at the text as just text I will be able to learn more about history by exploring this era. Mark twain's world shaped his views on many different problems around the world. The historical background will definitely have shaped the reasons why he wrote what he wrote. Apart from Twain's historical time period as a writer, his childhood will be a determining factor of many of his decisions. The world in which he was raised will have the most impact in his writing. Getting to research his early life and the world he lived in as a writer is why I wanted to focus on the historical critical lens.  

Choosing Marx

Marx practically invented the academic critique. In a letter to Arnold  Ruge he described his philosophy as a 

“Ruthless criticism of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be”

While Marx wasn't actually referring to how his ideas could be applied to literature, this quote still demonstrates how Marx’s ideas of class struggle and power structures are designed to be applied in a critical manner, to be used to greater understand the underlying motives and concepts of the world in a way that might not be obvious to someone using a different lens of analysis.

By using such a Marxist lens of analysis not only do you inherently access the dialectical aspect of Psychoanalysis but the anti-patriarchal bent of feminism, and the anti-imperialist side of race-focused analysis. A Marxist understanding of power dynamics is of and in itself intersectionalist. That is why I have chosen this lens,  I want to get the most out of this experience and truly explore the literature from a different angle than I normally would.

Racial/Cultural Lens Entry 1

Critical lenses are a means for people to look at a text with different perspectives and focus on a certain aspect of a text. The race and cultural background lens allows readers to focus on how different races or cultures are viewed, treated, or the thoughts that those races or cultures have about others and themselves. I chose to read through Huckleberry Finn and Song of Solomon in this lens because they are two books with evident instances of discrimination towards different races or cultures. I also chose to focus on this lens because I am interested to see how different people were treated in that time period and how the characters participate, or don’t, with how they are expected to towards people of different race or culture. 
Looking into this lens and how different people were treated in the past is similar to looking through the historical lens, which focuses on the time periods of the book’s setting and the time period in which the author was writing, in order to see how they were influenced to write what and how they did. However, I am really interested to see how these different cultures were treated in the time period that the books took place in and also how they were treated when the authors were writing these books because they will give more insight for why they were treated this way. Overall, I am excited to read through these books to learn more about how different races and cultures were treated in these times and I hope to see how the different characters react or participate to the way they are expected to treat or view people of different cultures or backgrounds.