Matthew Nguyen

Pd.4

Huckleberry Finn Synthesis Essay

Huckleberry Finn is a book that has always had a lot of controversies over
time from its release in December 1884 from its use of the N-word over 200 times
throughout the course of the story due to its history and meaning in history. To
some people its an insult and a reminder of a painful past that they dont want to
remember, from the days of slavery and its use as a label for the owners to use on
the slaves who were not considered people. Even today the word is still being used
by rappers, children, and teens frequently, but it has a different meaning to them.
A lot of parents and adults are complaining about the usage of nigger and
are worried that the exposure of the word to their children will lead to continued use
of the word and future racism. Others say that words that have had controversies
similar to nigger can, even without context, can wound, enrage, shame, and
scorn groups or individuals in a society, singling them out as a target for racial
criticism. For younger readers I understand that their parents want to have a more
family friendly book to read, that they will learn the meaning of later as they
grow up and avoid conflicts with others who are sensitive to these kinds of
problems. Also people want to keep the young ones from such negative words that
are so controversial until they are old enough to understand the meaning and move
on.
Yes, I understand that there are people and parents who dont want their
children reading a book with such controversial words and will lead to future racism,
but they have to understand that its only a book. Nowadays it word is commonly
used on a daily basis without drawing any attention or interest in those around
them. Also the meaning of the word has changed as well, turning into a more
friendly address instead of a degrading label, where there are a million kids that

Matthew Nguyen
Pd.4
use it. Theyre not going to stop just because one person says so. Besides those
who want to change nigger with slave to avoid conflicts and make the book more
family friendly dont realize that by doing so changes the authors intended
message and in a way insults the authors work that they put so much time into to
create. At the same time the whole story makes fun of that time period were slavery
was a major part of the south, so there is no need to take the book so seriously that
you have to change words and phrasing in the book just to let a minority group
happy.
While there is a lot of talk on Huckleberry Finn alone, the issue has spread to
various books, movies, poems, and the modern usage of many other controversial
topics, that have lead to widespread debate on subjects related to any points of
conflict. One side supports the topic, while the other side opposes the topic,
stubbornly, trying to justify each others arguments due to past meanings and
modern meanings. There are many arguments to be made about Huckleberry Finn
and its affect and role in society, but in the end it is still only a book meant to be a
form of entertainment while showing awareness of a point in time of our country.