ats Jim at times, lying to him or belittling him is racist and wrong. Hucks ability to disregard not only Jim, but all African-Americans is appalling. Their lives seem to not matter in his scheme of the world. Huck can change his ideas to suit the situation, disregarding that Jim is the only truly trustworthy person that he has associated with in a long time. Early in the novel, after the storm where Jim and Huck are separated, Huck tries to convince Jim it was all a dream and have him analyze what he dreamt happened. Jim, who was overjoyed to see Huck back safe and sound, eventually realizes what Huck is doing, and becomes hurt. Yet, it was fifteen minutes before I could humble myself to a nigger (Ch.15) While Huck does eventually apologize to Jim, it seems to be taking him longer because he is black rather than white. Racism, a hidden, underlying theme that runs through the novel, isnt presented in a way that encourages healthy discussion, but rather in a way that may make students, Caucasian and African-American alike, feel uncomfortable. If the object is to learn about and discuss racism openly, there are far better books that let the reader know from the start that the book will be centered around racism, such as Uncle Toms Cabin. The knowledge that the novel of choice will be including deep discussions on racism, is a knowledge that could help not only to caution and warn the students, but also, so that the may begin to think about the issue, and help facilitate discussions. Besides this, while it may show the time period, the word nigger was definitely overused. While the use of the word may have been used as a tool to show the reader life in the Deep South, it could be shown in different ways or in a textbook, but not a fun adventure type story.Not only is this story about a basically morally corrupt young man, it is also the story of a black slave whose character seems to become more that of a character of a minstrel show than ...
