Race And Censorship In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

1848 Words8 Pages
Ashley Wolford Twain’s Huckleberry Finn: An Accurate Depiction of Race Before Emancipation Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been called “racist trash”, banned from schools, and censored. I feel that these claims are false and the actions unnecessary. In 1915, D.W. Griffith released a film, an ode to a family member. It was the top grossing film that year and remained the most popular and profitable film ever made until 1939. People flocked to the nearest movie house to see The Birth of A Nation, the story of the creation of the Ku Klux Klan. This movie has received criticisms, however has not been brought to light nearly as often as Twain’s novel. This, in my opinion, is a racist film. It attempts to justify the actions of the Ku Klux Klan by portraying African Americans in such a negative and…show more content…
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1885. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2004. Print. Henry, Peaches. “The Struggle for Tolerance: Race and Censorship in Huckleberry Finn.” A Case Study in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd Edition. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2004. 382-495. Print. Kaplan, Justin. “Born to Trouble: One Hundred Years of Huckleberry Finn.” A Case Study in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd Edition. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2004. 371-381. Print Brenner, Gerry. “More than a Reader’s Response: A Letter to De Ole True Huck.” A Case Study in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd Edition. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2004. 405-422. Print. Graff, Gerald and Phelan, James. “The Controversy of Race: Does Huckleberry Finn Combat or Reinforce Racist Attitudes?” A Case Study in Critical Controversy: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd Edition. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2004. 371-381.
Open Document