children, who are “someone else’s property.” While Huck is still racist here, Twain has written the scene in a way that ridicules the notion that someone’s children can actually be the property of a stranger just because the father is black. The second example is where Huck does not tell the whereabouts of Jim, which would return Jim to slavery. He instead makes the choice of “going to Hell” in order to keep his new friends freedom a secret. The more obvious example that supports the notion that the novel is racist is the constant use of the word “nigger.” This is not a good reason because this is how blacks were referred to during that time in history. To use the word African-American would have taken away from the story’s impact. On a superficial level Huck might appear racist. The first time the reader meets Jim; he is given a very negative description. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childlike, not very bright, and very superstitious. However it is very important to realize who is giving this description and of whom it is being given to. Although Huck is not a racist child, he has been raised by an extremely individuals who have, even if subconsciously, ingrained some feelings of bigotry into his mind. It is also important to keep in mind that blacks at the time were not permitted any form of formal education, were never allowed independent thought and were constantly maltreated and abused. Twain is merely portraying by the way of Jim, a very realistic slave raised in the South during that period. To say that Twain was racist because of his desire for historical accuracy is absurd. Despite the few incidences in which Jim’s description might be misconstructed as racist, there are many points in the novel where Twain through Huck, voices his extreme opposition to the slave trade and racism. In chapter six, Huck’s father fervently objects to the governments g...
