Matt Khoury
AP Literature
Huckleberry Finn Critical Lens Expert
In the article Morality And Huckleberry Finn by Julius Lester, the idea that Huckleberry Finn is a racist work and should not be read in schools. Reading this article brought up some very important points that cover a multitude of problems in the book. For the most part, I agree with what Lester is saying. The book certainly does have racist themes, but the book was pretty progressive for it’s time. By today’s standards however, it’s still incredibly racist. The use of the word “n-----” is just about as common as the word “the” in the book. It is still shocking to me that this book is still in curriculum. I am very aware that this is one of the greatest American works of literature and makes sense to read during high school because it is a coming of age story, but there are a whole plethora of stories that convey the same message without the racist overtones of the book. I do not share the same experience as Julius Lester, but his article is certainly informing. He states that although Mark Twain was considered progressive for his time, the city he wrote these stories in is still racist to this day. It is truly funny how that works out.
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