I’m certainly no expert on Mark Twain, but I have a theory about Huckleberry Finn. When I read the book, I kept track of the number of pages on which the word appeared, and that came to 71, or about 31 percent of the total 230.īy contrast, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published eight years earlier, Twain used the word “nigger” only nine times - on five of the book’s 161 pages, three percent. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the word “nigger” 214 times. I know that an African-American would read this book with a different set of experiences, sensitivities, interpretations and insights than I bring to the task. Finally, in writing about Huckleberry Finn, I am writing as a white American. Lawrence’s 1928 novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover where another word, viewed as offensive for other reasons, is frequently used. Also, for comparison purposes, I will mention D. If that makes you too uncomfortable, please don’t read any further. Reader: This review is going to deal with Mark Twain’s 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and, because of that, it will include a particular term that, today, is highly offensive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |