Dear Members of the School Committee, I am writing to you as the parent of a student currently in high school and am concerned that you are considering banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the current school curriculum. I want to advise you to change your mind and allow The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to be a part of the high school curriculum.
I understand how Mark Twain uses the word “nigger” many times throughout the novel and there is some vulgar language; however, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows such a major piece of our history, that all of the students should be allowed, or even required to read this novel. In order for people to learn about our history and how we have developed to where we are today, we need to read these amazing pieces of literature. Mark Twain is a significant author in history who writes about the honest truth of American history.
This novel is a piece of literature that needs to be read by everyone in the United States in order to see exactly how we developed into today. By reading this novel our students will find out exactly how the slaves were treated back then and how we have learned from this. This piece of literature is teaching students about how horrible the world actually was and how African Americans were once treated. Unfortunately some are still treated badly today, although not nearly as bad as it once was.
Another problem to consider is that by banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you would be in violation of the first amendment. Technically by banning this piece of literature than you will be invading Mark Twain’s freedom of speech. He wrote the book and by banning the book from schools, the school committee would be taking away Mark Twain’s freedom of speech. He wrote the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, off of his own opinions about how African Americans were treated back then. By banning this book, you will be taking away Mark Twain’s freedom of speech.
By encouraging our children to read this book, then you will be showing them how bad the past used to be. Our children’s generation is smarter than we have come to believe. They understand how the word nigger is used many times throughout the novel and that in today’s society this word is frowned upon. This book was written with that word to show how African Americans were treated back then. I believe that this novel shows the unfortunate brutal honesty that was once happening in the United States.
