Huck Finn:
Dead and Irrelevant or Alive and Pertinent
It is generally accepted by high school students that literature is typically irrelevant to their lives, and that teachers teach material simply because they consider it a “classic” or because it was important at one time. Instead of me telling you what I think of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to start the novel, you are going to explore the relevance of this work to the world we live in today.
Use whatever sources you can find on the Internet to answer the questions below. You are encouraged to divide the work any way that suits your group as long as the work is finished and the group is informed of the answers found. Everyone must fill out a sheet.
1. What criticisms of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have there been? Find people, groups, and quotes that suggest who objected to Huck Finn, and why exactly they objected to it. What did critics have to say when it was written? What do they have to say about it today? Provide a wide variety of objections to Huck Finn that have developed from the date of publication to today.
2. What praises has The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn received? What did famous authors have to say about the work? What groups praise the work as excellent or very important? What do the champions of Huck Finn have to say about the work and why? What benefits do they say Huck Finn has to offer the world? Provide a wide variety of praises to Huck Finn from the date of publication to today.
3. Where does Mark Twain stand on the issue of race in America? Using only his biographical information and what he has to say about the acceptance of Huck Finn in American culture/schools/libraries (and there are several places with that information on the Internet), determine how Twain might have felt about slavery and abolition. Although it may take some careful reading, there are clues in that information.
4. Despite our freedom of speech in the United States, occasionally people and groups feel that works of literature are not worthy of the receiving time in educational institutions or aren’t worth spending government finances on. These books take on the title of “banned books.” What is the history The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnregarding this type of censorship? Who wanted it/didn’t want it banned? Why? Explore the legal history of this book. When you find information on this, be specific as to when it actually took place. Try to cover the period from the time of publication to today. If you have any good quotes, incorporate them.
5. What controversies have arisen over the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Find as much information about any controversies that have existed from the time of its publication to today. Please pay specific attention to whom the conflict is between and what the conflict is about. Also, please consider and indicate when these controversies took place.