huck finn :: essays research papers

Twains huckleberry Finn was a very enjoyable read. It was my first early American legend and I could not help feel as though I was being swept along the current of the Mississippi sharing in Hucks adventures. I was fortunate enough to travel to New Orleans a few years ago on my first trip to the American south. Hucks narrations while powerful in their own right, were that much more meaningful because of my own experiences.While Twain ironically proclaims that there is no theme in the preface, there is a very strong theme that satirically is inescapable in the way societys rules can wash individual freedom of expression and thought. While at first I found the diction to be very confusing and even frustrating at times, it later seemed almost vital in order to make the narration believable, controversial, shocking, and powerful. One believes the adventures to be true because we can envision these types of discussions taking place in the mid south at that time. The multitude of advent ures, told in the first person in a concise and simplistic manner was very appealing. My own commonwealth of Newfoundland has a very rich and distinctive culture, with numerous strong dialects, and storytelling is a very big part of that culture.I like the fact that the novel is controversial, and challenges the mainstream views of society. many a(prenominal) have debated over the years whether Twains novel is a masterpiece or subversive trash. It has been argued that it is rough, coarse, inelegant, and exerts a dangerous influence on the young. (Concord, Massachusetts, subroutine library committee). However, the reality is this is a part of life whether we like to admit it or not. If one chooses to look beyond the lies, If one chooses to look beyond the lies, bad nomenclature and criminal activity what shines through is a strong social messages meant for society as a whole.Many have questioned whether the persistent use of the word common racoon makes Huckleberry Finn racist. I think, it has to be put into the context of the entire novel and the underlying theme. The novel portrays the worst society has to offer through the innocent and impressionable eye of a thirteen year old boy. The book is shocking, the behaviors and attitudes towards a cast society are appalling and shameful, and should be our central focus for debate. While no one today should tolerate the use of the word in a derogatory sense, its use in the novel is vital.