Born to Trouble: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
What do you think of the argument made in the film that a book which uses language derogatory to other ethnic groups might not be approved for use in schools, so why should Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
If a student or a parent is strongly offended by material taught in a public school, how should their concern be balanced against the goals of the curriculum?
Mark Twain-
As I watched my first episode of Culture Shock- Born to Trouble of Huckleberry Finn, I couldn't help but notice that the one of the young women who found the book offensive practiced cheerleading to rap music which is rich in racial slurs and offensive sexual statements.... Although I can see why once might find The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn offensive, I also recognize that Twain wrote from and about life experience. In my opinion, I think if we turn this around, this may be a golden opportunity for women and men of color to embrace the journey they have traveled, to recognize the lifestyle and attitudes of Twains day and encourage the mile stones. Slavery was and is a horridly dehumanizing bondage, the Holocost was a horrid and dehumanizing bondage. I can not help but wonder why some would bury it , bury the language of the day, bury not only a bit of history, but a voyage of a man and his culture and the "art" of writing. I guess my last question is why is it ok for the "Beastie Boys" or "Snoop Doggy Dog" to make refrences to "Nigger"s and "Bitches" but Mark Twain is taken off of bookselves? I think they call it art.
PLEASE POST ON THIS WEBSITE THE NAMES OF THE ESTEEMED PEOPLE SPEAKING AND BEING INTERVIEWED IN EACH SHOW!!! PLEASE!!
Satire, when it is very good, is often difficult to distinguish from the issues being satirized. A good topic for a modern day Mark Twain would be the intellectually stifling effects of politically correct speech codes where the democratic ideals of raucous discourse and the free exchange of ideas are sacrificed to avoid "offending". Indeed, this episode of Culture Shock came close to being a satire itself: poor Kathy Montiero and her daughter appeared so enmeshed in their poorly formed, irrational and anti-intellectual opinions they became caricatures themselves. They provide a tragic example of what happens when intensity of personal belief is substituted for rational discourse and inquiry. Floating down a shallow intellectual stream on a raft built of insularity and self-righteousness, one hopes the younger Montiero at least will encounter teachers skilled and strong enough to open her to the broader river of ideas and the personally transformative power of challenging art and literature. She is Huck now, wish her well.
I found the presentation of the subject matter to be completly one-sided, and without well thought out rebuttals. While I am all for the freedom of speach, in relation to art, press, and the individual. I felt that the argument against the teaching or offensiveness of the work was not well presented or articulated. Indeed, that offended me. Instead of having a balanced discussion among intellectuals about the veracity of Huck Finn, instead the audience was presented with three Negro apologists for the work. While, Mark Twains intentions may have been laudable, that in itself does not preclude the work from offending any one individual. I think that the attention paid to the word Nigger, and or minstrel stereotypes protrayed in the book to be issues but not the only issue. For me, I believe that Harriet Beecher Stowe's or Mark Twain's work to make the Negro sympathetic to their EuroAmerican audiences, created another stereotype. The good Christian Negro that would sacrifice for his white brother, is insidious and dangerous. Indeed, I do undestand context and subtext, however that does not preclude me from being offended, by a portrayel of a Black man and former slave that would sacrifice his own freedom and his families freedom in order to become a surrogate father for a White boy. Lacking, in Twain's protrayal of Jim is a sense of individuality, agency and love of self. While, some on the film felt this quality redeeming, and thus justifies the work, I disagree. What was lacking in the classroom discussion's was just that. Why did Twain himself perpetuate this stereotype, eventhough he may have thought his intentions pure?
I enjoyed the segment on Huck Finn and am sure that Mark Twain would be amazed at the national dialog surrounding the book. His OWN commentary on the book, which is in the front of the book, is "Persons attepting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR ". I don't need to say anything more about the book HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Let's hope ALL our youth can just enjoy this historical novel, as the author intended.
As a teacher, I feel it is my right and responsibility to expose the very nature of problems in our society. By teaching Huckle Berry Finn in my classroom I am not creating a racially tense atmosphere. If racial tension exist, it is not because of Huck Finn, it is because of ignorance. The only way to over come this ignorance is by education. Mark Twain was a realist and he was exposing the truth about the society that he lived in. The issues discussed in Huck Finn are a direct reflection of societal issues that are a apart of out countries history and still exist today. The use of the word, "nigger" in the book is not meant to offend, furthermore, it realistically describes what the times were like. Back then, people refered to African Americans as "niggers". I'm not saying that is the correct terminology but it should be understood what point Mark Twain is trying to make. If those people protesting this novel take the time to learn about Mark Twain and read Huck Finn, they will learn that it addresses topics that can shed some light on race relations in America and can educate students at the same time. Even though Jim is called a "nigger" he is also portrayed in a positive way. Given the lack of positive role models of African American in early works of fiction, this novel gives students a more positive and emotional understanding of slavery and it's affects on the people that lived during that time.
Though Huck Finn is one of my all time favorite books, I see no reason why it should be mandatory reading on the high school level if it causes students pain or embarrassment. There are so many other wonderful books. Why not let the students read something about or from the same era in history that was written by a person of color? I do not trust that all teachers will have enough insight, interest, and skill to teach this work to a diverse class of students with sensitivity. I remember when I was in college and was forced to take a core class called "Revolutions in Western Thought". I was offended that, according to our school, there were no women who even caused a ripple let alone a change or revolution. My heart goes out to the strong mother who was taken out of the school in hand cuffs. I saw her as involved in a discussion, not as causing a disturbance. I also feel that having a student sit and read on their own in the school library when they find a required book objectional is not an acceptable solution to this problem. P.S. I am a teacher. I am white.
A book which is about derogatory language in its totality would be offensive. HF, however, is about the humanity of two people and the wit and satire of the author. A book which does not carve new territory would be so bland as to be a waste of time. The "n" word directed at an individual by another individual in a contemporary setting would be offensive. To fuss about its use in a communal setting and to deny a piece of accepted literature to others is arrogant and immature, to be likened unto the book burnings throughout history. The young lady who read Tale of Two Cities instead of HK should ponder the painful reaction of a recovering alcohollic to the degraded plight of one of the main characters in TOTC.
The young mother in Tempe, Az seemed quite shocked by the racism in the USA in the 1870's as shown by Mark Twain. I felt she could have been of Mexican heritage which (thankfully) has not experienced this particular racism--but also of a culture that does not have the reverence for Mark Twain that this culture has. I also feel she was struggling herself with the problems of being the parent of a bi-racial child--and without a spouse to aid her. So she was quite vulnerable to the hate and cruelty depicted in the book. I felt so much like her when my daughter was young and would see--with me--movies that I felt were very misogynistic but which have so permeated our culture for the past 30 years--that we really don't even notice the skewed values depicted--I'm thinking particularly of the movie by Robert Altman called "Short Cuts". But back to the woman in Tempe--her daughter seemed really confused and bewildered too but probably not by the word "nigger" in the book--but by hearing the word cruelly from the lips of kids she knew. I think all kids in this culture need to be exposed to great literature--but if only we could work on the cruel racism in the minds of kids in school too.
Elizabeth Gadus - 10:41pm Jan 26, 2000
Names of Interviewees Please
Tim - 11:52pm Jan 26, 2000
Born To Trouble: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Randy Hauer - 11:07am Jan 27, 2000
Why have three apologist on the film, but no proper rebuttals?
Georgie Jones - 11:08am Jan 27, 2000
Huckleberry Finn
Ken H. Molloy - 01:40pm Jan 27, 2000
Huckleberry Finn
Maureen Forde - 02:19pm Jan 27, 2000
Mother protests mandatory reading
Tabitha Harry - 05:18pm Jan 27, 2000
The Huck Finn segment
charles b. thompson - 12:14am Jan 28, 2000
Huck Finn Film
Anonymous - 11:55pm Jan 28, 2000