Why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Banned Essay

The decision to ban the novel Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries has been an ongoing controversy. The presence of the n word and the treatment towards Jim, and other blacks in general, has made umteen readers uncomfortable. Despite this fact, Huckleberry Finn has been and remains a classic read. I do not believe the novel should be banned or sanitized because it is a smash of American history whether it is good or bad, also we have no right to change someones musical composition simply because we do not like how it is written, turn back Twains writing should not be penalized because of the ideals of today. Sanitizing Huckleberry Finn would be ignoring Americas past and history. Revising the original version of the book is not staying true to the period in which Twain was writing. The quarrel of the book depicts Americas past(Rawls 1). The language used is appropriate for this specific time period. People would not have referred to slaves or African Americans in any o ther way. altering Huckleberry Finn and changing the racial slurs would make the novel lean towards a more fictional direction. Erasing racial labels does not erase race or racism. Wanting the valet de chambre to be less racist does not give anyone the right to change someone writing. Being less racist would mean that the world could recognize speech communication and their meanings as a sign of how much we have evolved(Dawkins 1). It is wrong to ignore the past simply because we dont know how to explain it. A large part of piteous forward in the world depends on addressing problems and difficult situations. People have been reading Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer for over a century and it has not stopped us from evolving and moving past slavery and racism for the most part. Why should we all... ...t(Mullen 1). We need to remember and acknowledge the fact that these young people ar juniors and seniors who differ in ages from 16 to 18 and in some cases be halfway to legal adulthood. The students reading this novel can make decisions for themselves based on what they know as right or wrong. Reading Huckleberry Finn one time in their literature class will not change that. Huckleberry Finn should not be banned or sanitized because it is a part of American history whether it is good or bad, also we have no right to change someones writing simply because we do not like how it is written, Mark Twains writing should not be penalized because of the ideals of today. If you find the book offensive, dont read it or buy it. There are countless amounts of offensive books that people find no interest in, however that does not mean we change them or rewrite them.