Peer review

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a controversial since it was written. Ongoing debate about Huckleberry Finn asks many questions about the book’s meaning, it language, and is the book right to be taught in schools. Many people find that the book is offensive because of the numerous times the N-word is used. They find the book racist and degrading to the African Americans. Others view the book as the completely opposite to a racist degrading text. They find the book is a story about equality and the book shows that slavery is bad. In the essay by Jonathan Arac, he makes the argument it doesn’t matter what the meaning of the book is. The book should not be read because it continues the use of a word that is degrading and hurtful towards African Americans. The book still brings up feeling to its readers that should not be there and it is hurt to many African Americans who read it. I agree with Arac points, the book should not be read in schools because it perpetuates the use of a derogatory word which is still hurtful to many people. Students at a young age are not developed enough to understand the word and its context in the book. A book with hurtful language but with good intentions is still a hurtful book.

Arac goes over the pain that the N-word still makes many people feel. He uses evidence to show that the N-word is one of worst words in the English language and the simple use of the word has the power to bring about violent, aggression, and hate. The N-word was used by white people to refer to African Americans who were slave, people who where not treated as human beings but as property. It was used as a term for a black person, to point out that African Americans were different, were lower. The word was used to point out how many white people thought they were superior to African Americans. The N-word was used in a time where hate and violence was common practice against African Americans, a time Every time someone says the N-word it brings people back to that time when African Americans had no rights and no say in anything. Arac uses an example from the O.J. Simpson trial, stating that the prosecuting attorney in the case tried to use the N-word to get a new location for the trial. The prosecutor tried to make the claim the N-word was the vilest, crudest, most malicious word in the English language. Any jury member who is African American on the jury would be blinded by the arresting officer’s use of the word when referring to O.J. Simpson. Arac also asserted many news giants like CNN and USA Today censored the word because it was too obscene. If the word can’t be shown to a national audience of adults, why should it be shown to kids in schools who can’t fully understand the word’s meaning. The book, even though its intentions may be good, has a negative effect on students. It is seen everywhere the N-word used in the same context as in the book, has the potential to bring about violence, hate, and hurt.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has become so popular and idolized; it has been placed on a pedestal and can never be taken off. Arac says the book was introduced into schools, shortly after the decision in Brown vs. Board of education, as a symbol of integration and cooperation. In reality the book just gave more chances for the white students to say the word without repercussions. Hearing the word in schools, read out of a book made Africans feel the same way any other time they heard the N-word. The pain this book causes should not be allowed in school, but there are always people defending it. Every time the debate starts up again about how the book is offensive it is stopped by experts on the book who say it is not offensive. They ignore the feeling of the people who are actually hurt by the book. They don’t look at why people are hurt by the book’s language and context. A book should not be kept being read in schools just because scholars find it a good story. The fact is the N-word is a derogatory word used to degrade African Americans and since the word is used so much there is no doubt the book will hurt almost all African Americans who read it.

Blog 10

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a controversial since it was written. Ongoing debate about Huckleberry Finn asks many questions about the book’s meaning, it language, and is the book right to be taught in schools. Many people find that the book is offensive because of the numerous times the N word is used. They find the book racist and degrading to the African Americans. Others view the book as the completely opposite to a racist degrading text. They find the book is a story about equality and the book shows that slavery is bad. In the essay by Jonathan Arac, he makes the argument it doesn’t matter what the meaning of the book is. The book should not be read because it continues the use of a word that is degrading and hurtful towards African Americans. The book still brings up feeling to its readers that should not be their and it is hurt to many African Americans who read it. I agree with Arac points, the book should not be read in schools because it perpetuates the use of a derogatory word which is still hurtful to many people. A hurtful book with good intentions is still a hurtful book.

Arac goes over the pain that the N-word still makes many people feel. He uses evidence to show that the N-word is one of the vilest words and the simple use of the word has the power to bring about violent, aggression, and hate. The pain this book causes should not be allowed in school, but there are always people defending it. “When a school board or library attempts to act in response to this pain, out come the authorities to defend the book. The standard pattern is for journalists to draw authority from scholars to dump on parents and children” (Arac 440). Every time the debate starts up again about how the book is offensive it is stopped by experts on the book who say it is not offensive. They ignore the feeling of the people who are actually hurt by the book. They don’t look at why people are hurt by the book’s language and context. A book should not be kept being read in schools just because scholars find it a good story. The fact is the N-word is a derogatory word used to degrade African Americans and since the word is used so much there is no doubt the book will hurt almost all African Americans who read it.

Blog #9

Initially when we talked about it in class I though he might be trying to make some commentary about society. But after I say the picture and heard more about the council member I found it offensive and wrong. Why did he have to change the color of his face to keep it funky? Why did he have to point out another race. He is saying only African Americans silence to Funk music. He is stereotyping African Americans by saying they all act in a certain way. Why couldn't he have just dressed up as himself?

Rough Draft

My response to Huck is that he is a poor child living in white society as kind of an outcast. He goes through the process of being reformed, but he is reluctant to change. Since he has not grown up knowing the "normal" rules of white society in the South, he doesn't understand or accept many of the things his reformers teach him. He sees many things in society he dislikes, along with his father’s behavior, and decides to run away.  He escapes from society, which has treated him so poorly in the passed.   Huck has a perspective which is free of many of the prejudices and biases of the South, but he is only a child and can sometimes be influenced and persuaded by outside sources. Huck’s upbringing, and the fact he has been an outcast most of his life, gives him a unique way of looking at the world, but he still has to deal with white society and its rules.  Huck, on his journey, must wrestle with his own views and what he thinks white society wants him to do.  His perspective gives him a chance to question white society and think for himself.  Huck struggles with the pressures of white society, but he usually finds that society’s rules don’t make any sense and he cast them aside.  

In the beginning Huck sees Jim as just another slave.  This is something that was taught to him by society not something he truly believes in.  Everything in society says to turn in a runaway slave.  Huck listens to Jim’s story and can see why Jim escaped from enslavement.  He sees no real reason to turn Jim in except for the fact white society demands it.    Huck comes close, a couple times, to turning Jim in but something stops him.  He thinks he has been mean to Miss Watson by helping Jim, so he decides to turn him in.  Jim starts to talk about freedom and freeing his family, and Huck begins to feel bad about that too. He sees Jim is a real person with real emotions and he can’t go back on his word to Jim that he wouldn’t tell.  He was not brought up in proper society so his true feelings outweigh what he thinks everyone else would want him to do.  On numerous occasions Huck goes against what he thinks society would want him to do in order to save Jim.  In Huck’s mind he betrays Miss Watson, gives up being a respectable person, has to go to hell and lies to respectable people all to help Jim.  Once he gets to know Jim he makes up his own mind.  Huck eventually starts thinking of Jim as a friend.  Huck’s perspective allows him to have a special relationship with Jim.  A slave being a friend of a white person would have been something unheard of at that time. 

Blog#8 Huck

My response to Huck is that he is a poor child living in white society as kind of an outcast. He goes through the process of being reformed, but he is reluctant to change. Since he has grown up not knowing the "normal" rules of the white society in the South, he doesn't understand or accept many of the things his reformers teach him. He sees many things in society he dislikes, along with his fathers behavior, and decides to run away. Huck is a character that challenges stereotypes by thinking for himself and casting aside many rules of white society in the South. But he is also not without his fault, which included having some wrong ideas about race and slavery, which were taught to him by society.

Blog #7

I think it is not only the police officer's fault but society's fault as a whole. I think people make assumptions about people because of stereotypes. This is why the police officer in Dallas acted the way he did. These stereotypes are taught to us from every where in society. They are in our movies, in our television, all of our media. They are taught to us by our parents and by our friends. Maybe not directly but indirectly we all recieve these messages that create our stereotypes. He was acting on a stereotype he had picked up over the years and then abused his power as a police officer because of this stereotype. Society needs to change so that there are less stereotypes. More people need to accept everyone as a true individual with their own story and their own life. They shouldn't be put into groups because of other people's stereotypes.

Blog #6

I don't know is Jim is a minstrel or not. Jim can be interpreted as be a minstrel of as being a realistic interpretation of an African American at that time in history in that region. I see shades of both in Jim. Sometimes the way he is written about makes it seem like he is ignorant and overly superstitious. It seems like Twain is making up a fictional charater based on how many people viewed African Americans at that time. Drawing upon prejudices he and other people had at that time. Twain could also be trying to show realistically how Jim would have been because of the poor education and the poor conditions for African Americans at that time. I think Jim is a reflection of how people in white society viewed African Americans at the time. I am leaning in the direction that Jim is suppose to be a more accurate depiction on an African American in the South And mark Twain is not trying to poke fun at African Americans.