is huckleberry finn a racist book... and why?

Answer 1

"Huckleberry Finn" was written in a time when racism was an accepted part of everyday life. There was no politeness or political correctness then; it simply was the way it was. Although it was written in 1884, it is set before the Civil War, so even the changes that had come about since the Civil War, small though they were, were not part of the novel. It reflects a racist period in our history, so in that sense, yes, it is a racist book. However, to judge it by present-day standards makes little sense; I do not consider it to be a racist book by the standards of its day, and I do not see it as having been written in a racist frame of mind, to promote that end.

Answer 2

I would say it is for its time anti-racist.
Remember when it was written many people thought that people of colour, be they Africans, Indian, Asian or any native people, were naturally inferior.
If I remember correctly (it has been sometime since I read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer books) Jim was, for his level of education (IE none) remarkably intelligent.
If you take the character of Huck Finn, he starts the book with a fairly standard (for his time) view of Jim, he is a nonperson, a part of the landscape, convenient for use in his own escape, but throughout the book Jim becomes a person to Huck and eventually overcomes all his societal training in order to help Jim when he is recaptured.
Huck's agonising over his decisions is as relevant today as it was then, whether to do the moral thing or the socially acceptable thing.
I think that Mark Twain was showing in Huck and Jim's relationship that racism is a learned evil and easy to overcome with an open mind and with personal connections.

Answer 3

of course not. People at the time that book was written were not all complining about racist views and comments. The story more or less just tells life the way it was then, it is not racist to tell about ones life. It is totally a shame that this world has come to the place it is, where everything is taken as racist.

Answer 4

No. There is nothing in any of the stories of Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer to indicate that any of the principal characters were biased against the blacks.
There were plenty of unsavoury characters in the stories, but they were clearly marked as charlatans, hookigans, thieves, murderers...

Answer 5

The book was a satire where he used lots of racist comments and words. If you understand the characters the white people are fools and criminals. Twain made his point about society in this and other books. He and the books are not racists, even though the words he used are not acceptable in today's society.

Answer 6

No. It's a reflection of the times in which it was written. Huck's best friend was from a different race. However, it does expose how racist people were in those days. It is authentic, not a politically correct whitewash vanilla piece--heaven help us!

Answer 7

I don't think it's at all racist. But the people portrayed in the novel were, which was one of Mark Twain's objectives.

Answer 8

Not at all. Mark Twain was a brilliant satirist. While one of the main characters was named "N****r" Jim, it was a commentary upon his society at the time that felt there was nothing wrong with using that word.

Answer 9

No. It's just about a racist society.

Answer 10

I don't know, is it?...or are you a racist for bringing it up? (Remember: the moment you call something or somebody racist, the closer you come to being one yourself.)