The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/ Slavery & Racism

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Student’s Name
Institution’s Name
Abstract
Mark Twain the author of the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a staunch critic of the social setups and disparities that occurred in the society. He observed that racism and social discrimination was still rife in spite of the fact that slavery had long got abolished. In his works, Mark Twain had the conviction that the society was yet to entirely hold people of color with the dignity as they deserved. Therefore he set out into writing the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which gave an account of the disparities on how people of color were treated differently compared to their white counterparts. Nonetheless, it is quite essential to understand the history of racial discrimination in the United States before the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by mark. People of color often clash with the white majority. Slavery can be traced back to as early as in the 17th century. The book further paints a picture of a society drowning in hypocrisy. The black slaves endure blatant condemnation.
Keywords: racism, color, slavery
History of Slavery and Racism
To date, racism and slavery are America’s most divisive topics. People of color often clash with the white majority. Slavery can be traced back to as early as in the 17th century. A Dutch ship brought with it twenty Black African slaves to the then British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. Their arrival marked the start of what would eventually culminate in the nation’s most prominent and bloodiest civil war.

Before the arrival of the black African slaves, more impoverished white men and women would be hired by the wealthy landowners to act as servants in their vast farms. This low cadre Americans would spend much of their time working on the rich men’s farms. However, the arrival of black Africans meant that a new crop of servants got established. Unfortunately, the black people were not to attract servant treatment. They received slave labels. There were some striking differences between how a slave and a servant got treated. These disparities got fueled by the belief that people of color were less human as compared to the white people. In some extremes, the white man was to from then on a God to the black people.
Disparities between the white servants and the African slaves
In spite of the fact that the white servants had minor tasks to perform as compared to the African slaves, they had a better treatment as compared to their black counterparts. White servants would earn a living from their work and be entitled to private life. On the other hand, the African slave was not allowed any pay and was simple possession of the white men. The white man had an ultimate say on what the black man would do or not.
Disregard of African as humans came as no surprise as the black man was not entitled to be in possession of any property. Not even their own lives. The master was at liberty to do whatever he pleased with the black man. Black men stood inhumane conditions that were both humiliating and degrading.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place in the town of St. Petersburg in Mississippi. The book gives an account of the kind of treatment the black people received from the white majority before attaining the current status. The book provides an eye-opening insight into the preferential treatment that the white people won over the people of color. In the book, black people are same as objects and property that should be owned and possessed. In most of the instances, they are demeaned and dehumanized (Smith, 2014).
Their stature in the society did not receive any meaningful recognition. For instance, the charges asked as entry fees to entertainment joints did not consider blacks as grown people, “Admission 25 cents; children and servants, 10 cents,” servants and children had a unique price tag (Valkeakari, 2006). The charges were a blatant message of degrading the black race. Such words were meant to humiliate them and show them that their worth was equivalent to that of little children.
The book gives a vivid recount of the racial discrimination and slavery as depicted in the state of Mississippi America. There is evidence of the systematic and schematic perception of people of color by the white majorities. At this point, the vice is perfectly legal, and there are no laws against it. As such the wealthy whites are at liberty to do as it pleases with the black slaves who are their possession (Smith, 2014).
Racial injustice and superiority of the white man
In this period of American history when the book by Mark Twain got published, the white man still commanded high regard in society. People of color received subhuman treatment and also got duped into believing that they were of a lesser worth compared to their white counterparts. Mistreatment received a double shot from the religion of the period. The doctrines of the faith were used to subject black people to slavery.
The use of the Bible further made the vice complex. Men of God would read out the script as written in the book of Titus. “Teach slaves to be obedient to their masters in all aspects of life, to try to make them happy, not to question or say anything to the master, and not to take the masters possessions with them. Slaves are to demonstrate that they can be depended upon to so that they make the spread of the gospel attractive and easier.” (Titus 2:9-10). However, as evident as it is, there is no race condemned into slavery as written in the holy book. The slaves were duped continuously into believing that it was perfect for them to be submissive and that it was Gods will for them to be slaves (Valkeakari, 2006). Mark Twain felt that the acts added up to injecting injustice to people of color. In the society as depicted by mark twain, black people receive the tags of immoral people and little worth, if any.
Racial discrimination
In the book Adventures of Huckleberry, it is manifest how the white man regards the black slaves. Hucks’ father calls the black people a ‘thieving’ race (Hamlin & Joyner, 2007). The father had a conviction that the black people were solely made up of thieves. He held them in very low regard. His position was no different from his fellow white owners who believed that the black men were responsible for all the evils that befell the society.
The projected prejudice not only degraded people of color but put them in a peculiar position of intolerance. The demonizing of a race as thieves was ill-advised as thieving cuts across all humans. When immorality sets into a person it does so at a personal level and generalizing the entire race was unwise and uncalled for (Hamlin & Joyner, 2007). A similar position gets advanced by the two con artists. It is ironical that those involved in con trade have the guts to refer to the black people as thieves.
The assertions made were in clear contrast to the moral positions of their makers. The two con artists continuously change the status of their hidden and stolen treasures. They do so in the belief that the black slaves who were assigned to clean their home would take their riches. They hold the view that a black man or people of color cannot come across money and not borrow it (Valkeakari, 2006). The position got further support by the fact that black people were not entitled to pay and thus would be in need of money at any time of the day.
Treatment of black people as lesser people
In the book Adventures of Huckleberry, black men and women receive the same handling like that of children. The styling, therefore, meant that their rights would be limited to what the children of the slave masters got offered. A point in the case was in the number of charges that were being charged for admissions into venues of entertainment, “Admission 25 cents; children and servants, 10 cents (Hamlin & Joyner, 2007).” The message was a clear telling of the kind of mortification the black race had to withstand on a daily basis. Such words were meant to humiliate them and show them that their worth was equivalent to that of little children. Some would argue that their roles were limited to looking after the master’s children and thus had to be with them at every point and every hour of the day.
The moral dilemma
In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry, few ‘good’ white people get torn between doing what is right and following the general position of the society. Aunt Sally acts in a humane way towards the black slaves. She is both caring and mindful of the conditions the black slaves are made to persevere. Sally is sympathetic to them but does not take any step towards speaking out for the oppressed black masses. The much she does is to sympathize with them but does not make any affirmative step towards seeing into it that they are set free (Pinsker, 2001). The timid nature of Sally is a reflection of the fear of the white supremacists who owned several slaves; they were willing to kill whoever came in between their trade.
This moral dilemma gets further compounded by the truth that the society has already normalized slavery. The laws of the land do not put in place any punitive measures to see into it that slavery gets abolished. At the start of the novel, Huck takes the rather conventional position as adopted by other white people. He views the black slaves as mere possession of the white majority. Additionally, he thinks of them as being childish and a people without rights and ones destined into slavery.
He condemns them, at the slightest provocation and does not feel remorseful about his position. He further mentions that slaves are people who should get treated with the least dignity and that they are people of the low cadre. However, towards the end of the novel, Huck changes his view and position about the black slaves. He holds them with some regard and dignity. That notwithstanding he does not speak up against the vice. His silent acceptance of the vice gets enhanced by the society’s position. Huck does not receive liberation from the view that black people should get dealt with like properties or objects (Smith, 2014).
At one point Huck and Tom try to facilitate the escape of Jim but is not entirely convinced that Jim deserves to be set free and enjoy his rights like any other person. At one point he compares the theft of Jim to as merely ‘stealing a Sunday school book.’ This particular statement carried so much weight as to how he viewed the treatment of the black people. A Sunday school book if stolen will offer the thief some light.
Therefore, this stealing would do the thief much better than harm. In his thinking, the thief might get transformed and lead a more positive life as compared to their former life. In comparison, Huck thinks that a slave in the hands of the wealthy white owner stands to benefit more from that kind of a setup. However, this is not the case as the black people are condemned to slavery and have their rights curtailed.
Religious deception
In the early 1830s as depicted in the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the church and the Christians in general applied double standards. The hypocrisy was because the followers of the religion such as the Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and uncle Silas were a living contrast of their faith. Their religion had deceived them efficiently into thinking that it was perfect to own slaves. Owning slaves is a not a sin according to their religion (Faden, 2009). As such the Christians despite confessing their belief, they are still deceived into giving preferential treatment to the white people.
For instance, the widow Watson works hard to see into it that the white slave Jim gets freed from his captivity. That notwithstanding she does very little to look into it that the black slaves are set free. This application of double standards depicts a society that is foolishly into religious deception. In the end, Miss Watson redeems herself by freeing Jim, the slave but this does not reclaim her position concerning the treatment the black people receives. It is evident in the early stages of the book that Widow Watson was a proponent of the vice of owning slaves.
The actions were in contrast to what their religion advocated. Their religion stood for equality fairness and respect for human dignity. Nonetheless, in their practice, they seem to disregard what their religion teaches (Smith, 2014). The vice gets further compounded by the use of the Bible in trying to reach this end. The slaves get duped into believing that it is God’s will that they get subjected to slavery. For instance, during the prayer sessions, the book of Titus 2:9-10 received massive quoting.
The verse calls for the slaves to be subjective. “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” However, as evident as it is, no race was condemned into slavery as written in the holy book (Smith, 2014). The slaves underwent constant duping into believing that it was perfect for them to be submissive and that it was Gods will for them to be slaves.
Abolition of slave trade and discrimination
The end to slavery and slave trade in America was never on a silver platter. Slave trade was brought to an end in the United States in one of the bloodiest civil wars in the nation’s history. America was on the verge of a division as the south and north were willing to go to war over slavery. The south confederate states led by Jefferson were determined to continue the practice and were hell bent not to abolish the vice. The then president Abraham Lincoln was determined to bring an end to slavery and slave trade, but his subjects were not playing ball (Faden, 2009). At this point, civil rights movements had started taking shape and were agitating for an end to the vice. The continued agitation by civil rights activists and the north culminated in the nation’s never unparalleled civil unrest. The northern states (union states) were unanimous in bringing an end to slavery.
A new dawn of equality was in the offing, and the conviction that all are equal was beginning to take shape. The southern states determined to keep their slaves formed their union what was then called the confederate states union and was determined to hold on slavery. The two different positions, therefore, sparked the onset of America’s fiercest war ever. In the early 1860s’ the American civil war began (Smith, 2014). The black people teamed up with the Union forces into liberating the slave masses at the south.
The war culminated in the defeat of the Confederate states and the abolition of slave trade in the USA. The black people were accorded some rights even though they were not full rights when compared to their white counterparts. What happened is the changing of the slave title to servant status; servants have never enjoyed same rights as their masters. Nonetheless, the victory meant that they would command dignity from the whites and that their place was not confined solely to the cotton plantation and would be allowed to own property in the United States.
However, in 1964 barely a month since the end of the civil war the life of Abraham Lincoln was brought to a tragic end. One of the white supremacists who had the conviction that the black men were not entitled to a decent life brought an end to Abraham Lincoln’s experience in one of the most tragic shootings in the American history. The fight against racism had just begun to take shape, and it would run through the 20th century into the 21st century. Even in the contemporary times, there are cases of racism in the USA.
In conclusion, the book Adventures of Huckleberry gives a clear account of the racial discrimination and slavery as depicted in the state of Mississippi America. This particular society in St Petersburg describes the happenings in the broader community. The book further paints a picture of a nation drowning in hypocrisy. The black slaves received blatant condemnation, because of their color. For instance, they attracted collective blame for societal vices (Smith, 2014).
Huck’s father calls the black people a ‘thieving’ race. He was of the opinion that the black people were solely made up of thieves. He held them in very low regard. Huck’s father position was no different from his fellow white slave owners who believed that the black men were responsible for all the evils that befell the society. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry, few ‘good’ white people get torn between doing what is right and following the general position of the society (Faden, 2009). Aunt Sally acts in a humane way towards the black slaves. She is both caring and mindful of the conditions the black slaves have to withstand each day.
She is sympathetic to them but does not take any step towards speaking out for the oppressed black masses there is evidence of systematic and schematic discrimination of people of color by the white majorities. At this point, the vice is perfectly legal, and there are no laws against it. As a consequence, the wealthy whites are at liberty to do as it pleases with the black slaves who are among their possessions. Slavery is an open violation of human rights as all are equal before the eyes of the God.

References
Faden, R. (2009). Changing Old Institutions: Race in the Mark Twain Museum. Arkansas Review: A Journal ofDelta Studies, 5-17.
Hamlin, A., & Joyner, C. (2007). Racism and Real Life: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature. The Radical Teacher, (80), 12-18.
Pinsker, S. (2001). Huckleberry Finn and the problem of freedom. The Virginia Quarterly Review, 77(4), 642.
Smith, C. L. (2014). ” Nigger” or” Slave”: Why Labels Matter for Jim (and Twain) in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Papers on Language & Literature, 50(2), 182.Valkeakari, T. (2006). Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with” Huckleberry Finn” Today. Atlantis, 29-43.