Sally's Last Thoughts

Huck Finn Op-Ed

Because of the suggestive word choice in Huckleberry Finn it has been debated on weather or not to teach the book in high schools.   Especially in the last twenty years this debate has sparked the interest of many teachers and writers.  Some people think the use of the n word should be restricted and changed to slave and the novel and then that version taught in schools.  Others think that teenagers in high schools should be exposed to the n word because it is part of our history and we should not deny what happened in our past. 

I think that high school students should read Huckleberry Finn with the n word because it gives them the full effect and appreciation of the novel.  Readers and see proof of this in Huckleberry Finn, and in Jane Smiley’s article and her own Op-Ed. 

In Huckleberry Finn we see how the use of suggestive language emphasizes how Huck feels toward Jim.  In this part of the novel Huck and Jim get into an argument.  Huck says, “You can’t learn a nigger to argue. So I quit” (Twain 72).  When Huck says, “can’t learn” he thinks that because Jim is African American he cannot be taught.  Even if Jim is right Huck will not listen to him.  Here the use of the n word is important because it shows us how Huck thinks of Jim. This is important for high school students because with out the use of the n word we would not know that this is the reason Huck will not listen to Jim.  When Huck says “I quit” this shows the reader that Huck is easily frustrated with Jim and we know this from the use of the suggestive language.  With the n word in this quote it is the only way the student can get the full understanding of it. 

The other side thinks that the suggestive language should not be used.  However, it may be better to keep the suggestive language in to get the full effect of the novel and the full effect of our history because we cannot just deny that slavery and prejudice ever existed.  Smiley says, “No matter how often the critics "place in context" Huck’s use of the word "nigger," they can never excuse or fully hide the deeper racism of the novel” (Smiley 4). Smiley uses the words “fully hide” to show that people try and avoid using suggestive language.  For high school students we need to fully understand the themes and ideas in Huck Finn and to do so we need to be exposed to he suggestive language.  By saying “never excuse” Smiley acknowledges that this was indeed a terrible thing and it can never be taken away.  This is important for high school students because we need the word to be able to understand the novel but we must realize that is was not good and is not appropriate now. 

Again in the novel Huck’s use of the n word is pertinent to the understanding of the scene.  In this scene, Huck has to work himself up to go apologize to Jim.   Huck thinks, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way” (Twain 55 PDF).  When Huck uses the word “humble” he recognizes that he needs to apologize to Jim even though he does not want to.   When he says, “I wouldn’t done that” he lets the reader know that he is not being sincere.  The use of the n word here is used to let us know that he does not want to apologize to an African American.  This again lets the reader know how Huck thinks about Jim.  The use of suggestive language in this quote lets high school students know how Huck feels better than the use of slave or another word.

In Smiley’s Op-Ed she describes how when the novel was written that language was acceptable.  She says, “Unfortunately, previous eras and dead authors often used language or as accepted as normal sentiments that we now find acceptable” (Smiley).  Here, Smiley uses the word “unfortunately” to describe how the words are not appropriate now but they are necessary.  This is important for high school students because it lets them know the gravity of using the words. 

 

Works Cited

Smiley, Jane. "Say It Ain't So, Huck: Second Thoughts on Mark Twain's ‘Masterpiece’." Harper's Magazine 292 (1996): 61-67.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Edited by Shelley Fisher Fiskin; introduction by Toni Morrison, afterword by Victor Doyno. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Smiley, Jane. "Literature's Dual Life." The New York Times 19 Dec. 2011: n. pag. Web.