The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) of
Pennsylvania State believes Mark Twain's The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn promotes racism and should be removed from
school reading lists, and that American “Tax dollars should not be
used to promote a stereotype that has psychologically damaging
effects on the self esteem of African American children.” Most
people would agree that tax dollars should not be wasted promoting
hate nor should works of hate be taught in schools, but is The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a work of hate?
Nat
Hentoff of the Washington Post created a strong three part rebuttal
to these accusations in his article Expelling 'Huck Finn'.
The article works to dismantle the NAACP's position on 'Huck Finn'
by first undermining the very thought of Mark Twains story being
racist by telling a slightly snarky anecdote about Hentoff's
interview with an 8th
grader in a Brooklyn school. The school child goes on to proclaim
that his age group is not “dumb” and can differentiate between a
“racist book and an anti-racist book,” it's so obviously apparent
that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
is not racist even a child could easy point it out, or so Hentoff
believes.
To
further his position Hentoff points out the fact that “Nigger Jim”
is the one man of honor in the story, and the majority of the other
cast members made up of a motley gaggle of thugs, swindlers,
drunkards, and all around bad people are all white. This contrast in
the story helps point out the skewed irony in 1800's American society
and their views of equality.
To
round out his argument Hentoff provides fairly sold evidence that
'Huck Finn' is considered by most people to be a work that condemns
racism not promote it. He does this by quoting a predominate former
assistant director of the NAACP and current Director of the New York
Civil Rights Coalition's statement that the book is “a great
anti-slavery classic”, and goes on to stress that it's easily
understood even by children to be “anti-racist.” The article
also points out the 1998 case where Arizona Judge Reinhardt rejected
a law suit from an African American teacher requesting to have The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
removed from mandatory reading lists in Arizona Schools. Judge
Reinhart went on to say that it is true that racist words can hurt
but it is necessary for educators to teach students to “think
critically about offensive ideas. With out that ability one can do
little to respond to them.”
Hentoff
does a fairly good job of arguing that The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn is not a racist
work but quite the contrary. The problem with the article is that it
fails to provide any real evidence that a school child really can
grasp the full meaning Twain's book and its message of anti-racism.
After all sarcasm is one of the most difficult things to portray in
writing and ironic satire is said to be the hardest of all writing
strategies. So if your average or even below average school child
can not properly decipher the books message then perhaps the NAACP's
position is sound and the book should be removed from school reading
lists.
The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
does use a very difficult writing style, but the argument is not
whether a child can implement the same style in their own writing
it's whether they can grasp the meaning behind a work of ironic
satire. Lucky there has been a great level of research into the
understanding of irony and sarcasm done by a number of linguists,
psychologists, and neurologists over the past few years. According
to Katherine Rankin a nuropsychologist for the University of
California “sarcasm is an essential skill for functioning in a
modern society,” people lacking the skill to detect sarcasm are
immediately noticed. Similar research also shows that children have
the ability to understand and use sarcasm by the time they are in
Kindergarten, lacking this skill is actually an early sign of brain
disease. Further more sarcasm actually works to make a child’s
mind stronger, the duality of meanings stimulates a more complex
thought process necessary for today’s youth (Chin).
In
light of this research Hentoff's argument appears to be fully sound.
He could have or maybe should have used sarcasm/irony research to
further his position but the argument works. The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
is not only a great work of anti-racism that can be understood by at
least junior high aged children, it also helps promote critical
thinking and assessment of offensive ideas so one can provide a
proper rebuttal to racist ideology’s when experienced in life.
Works
Cited
Chin,
Richard. "The Science of Sarcasm?" Smithsonian
Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
July 2012.
<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Science-of-Sarcasm-Yeah-Right.html>.
Hentoff,
Nat. "Expelling 'Huck Finn'" Expelling
'Huck Finn'
The Washington Post Company, n.d. Web. 05 July 2012.
<http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Class/pol325/Huck.htm>.
Twain,
Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Spark
Pub., 2007. Print.
