Censorship in Huck Finn

Many people claim that the novel is racist due to the frequent use of racial slurs and the disrespect and mistreatment of the character Jim who is a runaway slave. Mark Twains famous novel is not a racist text because it is a historical account of the south during the 1840s, when racism was commonplace. The books purpose was to emphasize real life and mock the faults in human nature. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn runs away from his life and travels down the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, a runaway slave. The story follows Hucks moral growth and maturity throughout his many adventures and experiences. The major turning point of the book is when Huck realizes that Jim cares about him, and that he cares about Jim in return. As a child, Huck is taught that Jim isnt a person because of his skin color and that he does not deserve respect, but Huck discovers that Jim is a person and deserves more respect than most people Huckleberry met on his journeys. He comes to this decision because Jim cares for him and treats Huck better than his own father. Huck says â€Å"All right, then, Ill go to hell. when he decides to go against the racist teachings of his childhood and help Jim get his freedom (Twain 216-217). The book was written to show what life was like in the 1840s and successfully revealed the way people viewed each other and people of other races. In the beginning of the story, Huck treats Jim poorly because he is taught that Jim isnt a real person and he could get away with it. One of the many tricks Huckleberry plays on Jim was hiding a snake in the cave they were living in, but the snake bites Jim and Huck realizes how cruel his trick was and begins to feel sorry for how he treats Jim (Twain 55). Events like this are the reason people believe that Mark Twains book is racist, but without these examples the books purpose is muddled and the historical reliability is gone. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a controversial text because it contains derogatory language and examples of disrespectful behavior towards people of color. Speech and actions like the ones in the book were common in the setting of the book (Knab 1). People want to ban or edit the original text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, because of these elements, but they still allow these remarks in other literary works. Fredric Douglass used the same language in his narrative that was published in 1845, forty years before Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but people dont challenge his work because he was a slave and his story is a historical account of a slaves life (Bowker). The two stories are based in the same time, are about the same topic, and both aim to be realistic portrayals of everyday life in the 1840s, yet one is constantly challenged while the other is allowed to be as it is. People today are concerned with being â€Å"politically correct† and â€Å"non-offensive†, but they have reached the point where they are willing to change history to protect the feelings of certain people (Kay). If these â€Å"racist† remarks and actions were removed from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the message of the book would not be evident, its historical accuracy destroyed, and the book would just be a meaningless childrens story. Censorship is useful to an extent, it allows people to keep mature information from children, but when it is used on history it takes away from the importance of knowing about and learning from the past. The reason racism is so important to avoid now is because of the negative effects it had in the past. If people dont learn about these effects, then they can not understand the importance of equality now. When books are censored, their historical accuracy is lost and they are unable to educate people on the importance of the past to modern-day (Kay). Without learning about the good, bad, and ugly of the past, people wont be able to comprehend why the world is the way it is and how they can avoid the mistakes of the past. If the offensive content of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is removed, then people will not be able to see the severity of racism during the 1840s (Bosman). If the book is censored, then the point where Pap starts ranting about the â€Å"injustice† of a well educated black man being able to vote will not have the impact it should, representing the opinion of the average white male in the south (Twain 28). The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is seen as a masterpiece (Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and a classic (Robert OMeally) due to the original riting and arrangement. Without these elements, that people want to change, the book would not be as renowned or highly regarded. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may have some content that offends some people and they believe that it would be better to remove the offensive content, it would take away from the plot and meaning of the story. If the novel really offends someone, then they do not have to read it again or even finish reading it, but they do not have the right to change the words of someone else to suit their own ideals. The words of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were all carefully picked by Mark Twain to carry the message of his story and editing them would be defacing his hard work. Twain often complained about his proofreaders and editors changing his work (Kurutz). The book was written by Mark Twain and if he saw the need to add these controversial elements, then we should not interfere with his decision or his historical accuracy (Kay). Then novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text, nor is Mark Twain a racist himself. Mark Twains novel was written as a historical account of life in the 1840s and as a result, any content that could be considered offensive to some is all added to make the literary work more realistic and a more accurate portrayal of life in the setting. Without these elements, the story of Huckleberrys moral growth would not be as developed and the message of the book will not be as prominent. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be censored because the way the book is written provides an accurate account of life in the 1840s and without the writing staying as it is, the whole integrity of the work will be diminished. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered a classic because of how it was written. Changing the text changes the whole book and since the book is so highly regarded as it is, it should remain the same. When people claim that a book is racist, they make this assumption based on the content of the book. What people need to note is when the book is set, its publication date, and the purpose of the offensive content. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story takes place in the 1840s when racism was very common. It also was published in 1885 when people in the United States were struggling with racism after the Civil War. The offensive content of the book is used to portray what life was like in the 1840s and to mock the behavior of the people of that time. When the book was written, language like that used in the text was still common and not seen as offensive as it does now. Mark Twains novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not racist, it just contains racist content, and this content makes the story what it is and develops its meaning. To take away this major element of the literary work to protect the feelings of some individuals would ruin the story and would hurt more people than it would help. To censor The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would take away a valuable source of historical knowledge that allows us to see the importance of how our society has changed and developed. Without this knowledge, people will forget the importance of the progress humankind has made and will not be able to avoid the mistakes we have already made as a whole in the past. Because of these reasons, changing the great literary work of Mark Twain Is unnecessary because The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text and exposure to the harsh realities in the story will help the people of today to truly understand our past as a whole and improve our future. Works Cited Page Bosman, Julie. â€Å"Publisher Tinkers with Twain. † National Post. 4 Jan 2011. Print. Bowker, Gene. â€Å"Mark Twain, racism and Huckleberry Finn. † Examiner. com. Web. 9 Feb 2013 lt;http://www. examiner. om/article/mark-twain-racism-and-huckleberry-finngt; Kay, Barbara. â€Å"We Shouldnt Censor History. † National Post. 10 Jan 2011. Print. Knab, Jakob. Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2011. Print. Kurutz,, Steven. â€Å"A Twain Scholar Reacts to the New, Censored Version ‘Huckleberry Finn’. † National Post. 9 Jan 2011. Print. PBS. â€Å"Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † Web. 9 Feb 2013 lt;http://www. pbs . org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/literature/huck. htmlgt; Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2003. Print.

Deconstruction of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken Essay

Deconstruction of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken - Essay Example The road truly taken is the most popular one, not the road less taken, because people have no autonomy. They cannot choose the road they want, when they grow up living that only one road is acceptable, the masculine road to severe individualism, rationalism, and domination of the American Dream. The masculine speaker pursues the rough road of individualism. Individualism follows the ideals of independence. The speaker of the poem observes the two roads: â€Å"TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,/And sorry I could not travel both† (Frost 1-2). The word â€Å"I† indicates the individualistic voice, wherein he is sorry that he cannot travel both, which means he will make the decision on his own. He does not consider other people or consequences because he thinks that he can do everything on his own. Moreover, individualism emphasizes individual reflection. The speaker thinks about his decision: â€Å"And be one traveler, long I stood/And looked down one as far as I couldà ¢â‚¬  (Frost 3-4). He stood on his own, and this is not only individualism because he is alone, but because he thinks for his own interests. He looks as far as he can, but he does so using his own thoughts and ideas. He appears to be focused on his own interests only. Furthermore, the speaker sees the undergrowth depicts the masculine-feminine binary. He says: â€Å"To where it bent in the undergrowth† (Frost 5). The undergrowth or bushes stand for women, through symbolizing fertility because of its ability to give life through food, but it is described as â€Å"undergrowth,† inferior to other kinds of plants. The speaker’s individualism leads him to seeing the road in one way, instead of multiple ways. He does not open himself to the possibility that the undergrowth is more than what it appears to be, that it is in its development, or maybe even developed, but undeveloped to the eyes of the dominant group. Individualism takes away people’s ability to se e the strength of numbers, numbers of ideas and analyses. Aside from individualism, the speaker is masculine in that it emphasizes rationalism over emotions. Rationalism indicates finding the best way among all ways. The speaker describes one of the roads: â€Å"Then took the other, as just as fair,/And having perhaps the better claim† (Frost 6-7). The fair one is beautiful, so it is better to be walked on, but he chooses another side. But does he truly take the road less taken? He knows that the fair one is the better claim. It is what he wants to walk on, not the more difficult one. The word â€Å"Perhaps† does not show his reluctance for the easier road; it shows his hesitation for not taking the fairer road. Rationality emphasizes the better choice that gives the most rewards. The speaker depicts the beauty of this road: â€Å"Because it was grassy and wanted wear;/Though as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same† (Frost 8-10). The gr ass is inviting; it wants to be worn down. People are passing there, and it is the obvious choice with the least risks. Why would the speaker choose the other one, when people have passed one road and enjoyed it? It is irrational to not follow the road that the majority pursues. It is the best because it is the safest and most popular. Rationality judges this road as the winning road- the popular and convenient road of the American Dream. The rational speaker does not take the road les

The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business Essay

The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business - Essay Example This is mainly for commercial businesses. As for the other smaller businesses and entrepreneurs, there are other legal proceedings that involve guidelines on how to set up their businesses and divide up the profits and losses and even how to share them. This is carried out in legal jargon such as sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability among others. When it comes to business regulations, there are regulations in issues to do with environment and consumers, investor protection, antitrust and monopoly as well as land use and property control. All these offer positive advice and guidelines to the businessmen, consumers and investors and ensure that they are all living in coexistence and there is mutual benefit in the end. These laws and regulations are manned in different codes as well as the constitution. An example is the Uniform Commercial Code, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Constitution of the United States among others. All these should be followed to the letter by all concerned