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Some people feel that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a disgrace to American Literature and that it should not be a requirement for high school students. They feel that the number of times the word “Nigger” is used is uncalled for. The Concord Public Library Staff states, “All Huck Finn is, is a racist book more suited for the slums than for intelligent people,” and many others feel the same way(Concord Public Library). However, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel dealing with racism, conflicts of society vs. what one truly believes, and a dysfunctional family; therefore it should not be removed from high school English curriculum. Racism occurs on almost every page of the novel. Huck Finn takes place in the 1880’s when slavery and the thought that all blacks are worthless and stupid stood strong. Although many people believe this novel should be taken of the curriculum because of the high amount of racism, it teaches a valuable lesson and is good for the students to read. Reading about this racism is good for teens because it shows them how hurt blacks are when they are a victimized. For example, several times in the novel a white person states, “Ain’t nothing but a nigger”(Townspeople). As time went on from the 1880’s racism shrunk and shrunk, but with all the terror groups and horrible attacks it is surely becoming an issue again. Many teens today are taught to hate Palestinian and Iraqi people just because the major leaders of these terror groups are from those places.
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