The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be read as a novel that illustrates the moral growth of a young and naïve teenager as he desperately attempts to escape the perils of civilization. Yet below the surface lies a truly racist attitude. The portrayal of African Americans in this novel is reflective of a racist attitude manifested through the use of language, depiction of African-American characters, and the general attitude towards the African-American race in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The depiction of Jim, a slave in the antebellum South, is truly that of a racist one as seen through the initial descriptions of him, his cognition, and his appearance. In chapter four when Jim is introduced, a very stereotypical image of a superstitious slave without reason becomes present. Obviously a very unreligious view is being presented of Jim who uses a hairball to do “magi
The racist attitudes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are prevalent throughout the novel, and can be seen in the language and the depiction of African-Americans. The use of the word “nigger” is common throughout the entire novel, and elevates the racist attitude present within the novel. The overall sense of racism in the novel is appalling, and if taught out of context it could be dangerous for any reader and could spur racial tensions as well.
Yet one could argue that these depictions and language needs to be put into context with the era the novel was written when the word “nigger” was a common term and African-American slaves were mirror images of what Twain renders. Though the language used and the images of African Americans present within in the novel is reflective of 19th century society, one reading this novel in the contemporary era would find the text v
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