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Friday, September 30, 2011

Huck, Is That You?


Huck Finn has never been hotter. More seriously, we can learn a lot from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Even though the book is sometimes (and in my opinion, stupidly) considered controversial because of its use of the "N" word. The words used in this book are based on historical accuracy of the time, and when the book is taught that should be something that is explained.  Twain was a very open and non-prejudiced.  He often showed just how ignorant hate-filled language and derogatory terms can be.  Controversy aside, we can still learn some valuable lessons in the book. The developing friendship between a white boy (Huck) and a black slave (Jim) is the main driving force of this novel. It is this friendship that makes Huck’s decision of whether to help Jim escape slavery so difficult. Huck's ultimate choice pits him against everything he had previously known to be right. Huck makes several comments throughout the book that let us know how seriously he takes his friendships. He values loyalty most highly, and that leads him to stick with Jim (who proves his loyalty to Huck several times) to the end.

If we could all apply this lesson to our own lives, just think how much happier we could be.

6 comments:

  1. I have not read Huck Finn for years and years... maybe this is a good time to do Huck again.
    Have a great weekend Joe.

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  2. It's truly a nice story about friendship and loyalty...

    NOW, the boy in the photo, I'd love him to be loyal to me, for sure... Those magnificent eyes are making me melt down...

    Have a nice weekend.
    JiEL,Montréal,Canada

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  3. One of my favorite novels of all time. I agree loyalty is important.

    Peace <3
    Jay

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  4. Joe: Those blue eyes match his outfit.

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  5. Joe, maybe its just because I'm from Texas, but I think Political Correctness is always a bad thing.

    The censoring of Mark Twain's books is just one form of Political Correctness.

    Jack Scott

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  6. QH, it is a great book and Twain was a fantastic writer, one of my favorites.

    LOL, JiEL.

    Jay, I love everything I have ever read of Twain's.

    FOC, I love those blue eyes.

    Jack, I completely agree. I think we should all be polite, but political correctness often takes things too far. There is no reason to censor Twain, because he used those words for their shock value and to show ignorance and bigotry. He knew one day that times would change and those words would serve as an important reminder of our past.

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