Mark Twain's 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been considered both a literary masterpiece and a source of extreme controversy. With its central themes of race and the development of morality, Huck Finn shed light on the most uncomfortable elements of America in the aftermath of the Civil War, challenging its readers of all ages and backgrounds to confront their own Negative views on race and the development of morality. accept people as they are, regardless of their situation and skin color. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an anti-racist novel that identifies the problem of racism through Twain's racist language and characters. Twain is a satirist who uses subtle humor as a means of criticizing bigoted members of his audience. The dialects in which his characters speak and the way they treat others are all carefully established by the author in an attempt to mock racism and characterize it as a negative element of society. His intention is not to praise it, although this is often misinterpreted. Twain's informal writing actually has a gravitas that is often misunderstood by readers who become distracted by protagonist Huck's supposed ignorance and get caught up in superficial matters, such as Twain's use of the now derogatory term "nigger" and its creation of the character of Jim as an uncomfortably simple man. They fail to understand that Twain offers a realistic picture of his times; This is what makes the novel moving, and not the author's intention, which is in fact quite the opposite. The fact that the novel stirs up such controversy and makes readers uncomfortable proves that it successfully offers a brutally honest look at the flaws of racists. Huck Finn can be characterized as a satirical literary work because of the subtlety with which Twain addresses the themes of racism and racism. identity development. By intentionally including a sense of lightness, it masks the seriousness of the novel. Its examination of current social issues makes the text relevant and powerful; the way he approaches them is not powerful in theory, but it is successful because it is not so simple that it can offend his audience. Its sly inclusion of major societal issues allows its story to gain readership while educating, rather than gaining notoriety for preaching accuracy. The novel begins with a notice from Twain, explaining that the novel lacks motive, moral, and plot. According to Twain, any readers who attempt to find deeper meaning will be punished accordingly. This notice is the first example of satire in the novel. If readers are unaware that he writes in a humorous manner and does not threaten anyone, the opinion risks being misunderstood. This embodies the whole purpose of using satire: by hiding a point behind ridiculously grandiose pretenses, it actually becomes more obvious and more significant. The novel's study of racist culture may not be overtly discussed, but it successfully serves as a warning that if Americans continue to behave like the characters in Huck Finn, discomfort and disruption will arise. are inevitable. Twain's later explanation describes his use of certain rhetorical strategies in more detail. , including the use of “a number of dialogues” (Twain 130). The realistic use of language increases the authenticity of the novel as well as Twain's credibility on the topics onwhich he writes. Satire thus becomes more effective; as the novel becomes more realistic, its underlying subjects also become more realistic. However, these themes may be too hidden for the average reader to ever glean from the text. Although Huck Finn is considered a literary classic, it is also considered a literary controversy. This is because Twain's use of satire is so effective that readers can easily miss the irony with which he writes, mistaking his criticism of racism for encouragement of it. He does not intend to perpetuate this idea by speaking about this controversial topic, but he masks it so well in his examination of the differences between different members of society that some readers consider his work offensive. Ironically, this marks the success of his satirical writing style. In fact, the campaign's narrator, fourteen-year-old Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, speaks in a way that can very easily be considered humorous to readers. His lack of refinement marks him as ignorant, although in fact his burgeoning conscience is used as a channel through which Twain is able to identify the wrongs associated with harboring racist tendencies. Other characters correctly represent the role of racism in American life in the 1830s and 1840s include slave owners and well-off whites, such as Miss Watson. He is a hypocritical character; while she is supposed to be a woman who strives to behave perfectly according to society, she is a slave owner. Doing what is right is not really feasible for her when she owns other human beings, whom she considers inferior. This ironic development of his character is used by Twain to demonstrate that one cannot be morally and ethically correct by acting like one. Time period plays an important role in audience acceptance of satire simply because, when forming opinions, audience members may forget to consider that societal norms are constantly evolving. Although it was considered “normal” to have slaves in the antebellum South, it was not necessarily morally correct. Today's readers recognize this point and oppose it more zealously than even Twain, because their views are skewed by their current environment. This should be particularly taken into consideration when analyzing the text for satirical elements. The moral code of Huck's time particularly affects readers' opinions during the scene in which Huck decides to spare Jim, Miss Watson's property, from further slavery. Although Huck believes he is doing the "wrong thing" and offending God by sinning, he ultimately ignores these feelings in favor of Jim's freedom (262). He is so anchored in the morals of his time that Huck, as explained in “Masterpiece or Racist Trash? » by Barabara Apstein, truly feels like he has done something wrong when in fact he is acting as he humanly should. “It is a wonderfully ironic scene: just as Huck is fully convinced of his wickedness, the reader knows that his good impulses have prevailed” (38). Apstein's examination of the text recognizes the need for readers to "think critically about offensive ideas" (39). It is important to note that Justin Kaplan explains in his essay "'Born to Trouble': One Hundred Years of Huckleberry Finn" that there is a significant amount of heart involved, as "[Huck] follows the dictates of his healthy heart and also commits a sin. as a crime in helping Jim escape from his legal owner” (315). This authenticity is not devoid ofdevious themes on Twain's part; because the true moral conflict is more evident in this scene than in many others, the author is able to remind readers of his purpose and pair it with the ridiculousness of Huck's internal conflict to make it even more meaningful. Considering potentially insulting concepts forces many members of Twain's audience into denial; Since what appears to be a simple novel that claims to have no plot actually delivers a quick slap in the face in terms of attitudes toward race, many readers are left surprised, leaving themselves inclined to believe the facade instead of understanding clearly Twain's anti-racist speech. racist message. For this reason, Twain's use of the word "negro" is often misunderstood, mistaken for a term ridiculing black people instead of describing them using language appropriate to the era. However, Twain used the term to provide readers with an even more accurate depiction of the era and to help identify characters most affected by racism. The word "nigger" is primarily used in reference to Jim, a slave who accompanies Huck on his adventures on the river. Twain uses his character as a catalyst to reveal the racist tendencies of the white characters in the novel. In addition to the rhetorical strategies Twain uses, his development of Jim—notably the way he challenges the black stereotype while embodying it—makes Huck Finn an anti-racist novel. Jim is a carefree and complacent man. . He is helpful, considerate, and a true friend to Huck despite Huck's inconsistent attitudes toward him. Most notably, Jim hides the truth about Pap's death from Huck until the very end of the novel. His main concern is hurting the young boy, and so he protects him from a potentially brutal truth, which is only shattered when Huck pesters him about his father's absence: "He's not coming back, Huck" ( 309). By protecting Huck from the pain of losing a parent, Jim hides the secret. His kindness shines through his dark skin; despite his situation, Jim does not take action. It's important to remember – but easy to forget – that Jim is a slave. It is a human being belonging to another human being. He is ignorant, uneducated, and reveals to the audience that the slaves of the time, no matter how ethically good they were, could not fully express themselves; they are literally limited by law. However, Twain incorporates Jim into the lesson he is trying to teach the audience because of the irony of the truly good situations he finds himself in: a man considered so loathsome by the society of the time (simply because the color of his skin) acts with such kindness towards a young white boy. Twain's dramatic situations, including Jim, support the rights of African Americans by providing readers with a view of black culture that is not watered down. In fact, it's more like white culture than most readers realize. That being said, Twain reinforces what Julius Lester refers to in his essay “Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as the “feelings of superiority with which whites are burdened” (314). ). While Lester determines that Twain is anti-black because he "does not care about the real lives of slaves" and therefore "devalues ​​the world", it cannot be denied that Twain gives compassionate qualities to Jim to prove that black people really have. human hearts and feelings, despite popular belief (315). Lester fails to recognize that Twain is making Jim a good man to intentionally show that black people are just as capable, if not more, than white people of maintaining a positive outlook and an attitude of growth and appreciation in light of situations.