This must have been a debate that we had in English where half the class was suppose to try to argue that the book was racist and the other half argued it wasn't.

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Emphasize Twain’s emphasis on locution. He was very particular about dialects (the grammar and spelling of the character’s dialogue). 

Removing the n word would harm the historical context of the book.

The ultimate message of the book is anti-racism.

Argument 1: Book isn’t racist.
Proof/evidence/DTR: “I’ll go to hell then passage.” + Throughout the book Twain shows that slaves / Blacks DO have feelings etc.

Argument 2: The book belongs in Highschool classrooms.
Proof/evidence/DTR: Critical part of American History/Literature

Argument 3: what questions does the book provoke? It makes us wonder if we should assume that racist people will always be that way and question whether or not we are able to change them and we may treat them better and not ignore them as a result. It's therefore important for schools because it teaches a valuable lesson, that people can change if they have the will to do so. 
Proof/evidence/DTR: ?

What we can anticipate from the other team:

“The book is racist because it uses the n word.”
No, you’re wrong. The ultimate message of the book is clearly anti-racist.




Our group’s argument is that Huck Finn is not a racist book and that it does belong in highschool classrooms. On page 161 Huck says 

“It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a trembling, because I’d got to 
decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied it a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right then I’ll go to hell.” - and tore it up.”

This quote shows that Huck, a White person, is willing to go to extreme lengths to help out his friend Jim, a Black person. This is a good example of the books message ultimately being anti-racist, and is all the more important because it involves the book’s two main characters. On top of this Twain disproves stereotypes throughout the book by showing that Blacks do have feelings. An example of this  is on page 117 where Huck is talking about Jim after he wakes up to him mourning his family. He says: 

“He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks do for their’n.”

The fact that Mark Twain is willing to go against the mainstream society of his day by disproving stereotypes also ties into one of the reasons that the book should be in highschool classrooms. It shows a critical turning point in American History where Blacks and slaves began to shift from second class citizens and property to full blown Americans. Twain’s emphasis on dialect is also an important part of both American Literature and Culture. Another reason this book belongs in highschool classrooms is because of the questions it provokes. It makes us wonder if racist people will always be the way they are and question whether or not we are able to change them and we may treat them better and not ignore them as a result. This connects to a larger lesson that is valuable for students - that anyone can change if they have the will to do so. It is important to note that the initial portrayal of Huck, as a racist, in the book is not as important as the end result or conclusion and the change in his ideals and thoughts by the end of the book. At the same time, however, the initial portrayal of Huck in the book is vital because it allows Huck to change, and gives more meaning to the story than if Huck had not been a racist all along.



Joe’s stuff. 

The incipient events and portrayals of characters in the book do not matter so much as the result, the conclusion. 

The overbearing presence of Huck’s transformation from a racist, morally beguiled character to a righteous, altruistic one is the importance and secondary purpose of this book. Stories of such transformation are more valuable than stories completely devoid of racism because they allow readers to understand the malleability of ideals and the possibility of subversion in a seemingly indomitable paradigm. 

The evolution of the characters, the adaptation of ideals and notions are what should be taken away, not the original racism that was clearly shown by Huck at the start of the book.

Define racism, define the purpose of the classroom. Objectivity is and should be ubiquitous in the classroom. Books should be read as they were written. 

Racism can be defined as: an antagonistic attitude toward races whom are believed to be inferior.

Although Huck doesn’t often explicitly express the attitudes that we may define as “racist”, their frequency severely decreases as the book progresses and Huck is sympathetic of Jim and begins to understand the reality that African Americans are equal to Caucasians. His formulation of this “theory of mind” is evident in the following passage: 

“He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t every been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks do for theirs. It doesn’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so.” Page 117.

The pinnacle moment of his transformation is in the form of a conscious, discrete decision in which Huck chooses a path of righteousness and deviates from the norm with respect to treatment of African Americans. 

“decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied it a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right then I’ll go to hell.” - and tore it up.”

Racism does not equal discrimination. Racism is an attitude/behavior, I’d say discrimination is a schema.