Racism in the Mark Twain’s novel “the Adventures of HuckleberryFinn

Abstract

This work investigates racism in Mark Twain‘s Huchleberryfinn novel, which depicts segregation and discrimination that witnessed the Southern states of America during the nineteenth century, accurately before the civil war where slavery was legal and seen as a natural legitimate state of society, and yet, an external sign of wealth. The southern society during the 1830s-1840s was deeply religious to the degree of superstition. The novel displays life experience varied with the hope of freedom, the pain and loss of missed opportunities, the memories of family and friends, the cruelty, and the moral dilemmas. And yet among these experiences we find kindness and compassion among strangers, the comfort of life on a raft, lovely days and nights of long conversations among the two main characters Huck and the slave Jim who discovered each other through what society dug as a gap. The gap of race. They found out love, respect and consideration. Firstly, we present a general overview of the novel, slavery and racism in America exactly during the nineteenth century. Some African Americans live in the South experienced a measure of racial equality even after the emancipation proclamation (end of slavery); most of them lived under an oppressive system of apartheid and discrimination that defined racial relations. Then, we analyze the novel through its literary angles, the summary, the structure of the novel, and the characterization, themes, motives and symbols. Through these elements, we intend to rise out the racist aspects decried in the novel. Then, we move to the writing that Twain focused on, such as realism, satire, irony and humor. At the end, we intend to study the traits of racism within the elements of the story, for instance, racism through setting, because the place and the time story are characterized by slavery and racism. Also, we see racism within the narrator, as well, through the characterization. At last, we present the most important critical reviews. Moreover, to answer if the novel is racist or not and giving the real intention and objective of the author. In the end, we can conclude that Huckleberryfinn is not a racist novel. All my work is centered on the basic inquiry which is (racism). So, all the literary aspects have to be studied in convergence to the issue of Racism.