The novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has stirred many endless arguments throughout the entire country, continent, and planet, due to its racist views against African-Americans. This book was criticized up to the point where district administrators were on the verge of removing it from their schools. When the opportunity comes to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, I would object removing this novel from our curriculum. Although I agree that the book contains harsh aspects of racism, I believe it is a classic novel that should not be removed from our modern learning environment.

When reviewing expert analyses of this book, one will come across a broad range of opinions regarding the different topics covered in this book. Some believe that Huckleberry Finn is like one of many books in the bookstore today. Although there is an attempt to remove racism from modern-day works of art, Fredrick Woodard and Donnarae MacCann say “even the most sophisticated reading today does not remove the shackles of the white supremacy presumption” (141). Although Woodard and MacCann wish to prosecute the novel, evidence for keeping the novel can be found even in their analysis. In essence, these two experts are saying that Huckleberry Finn itself should not be removed for the sole purpose of racism. Some of our modern-day books contain racism, so why should a priceless classic be removed from our high school education? These racist views give us an insight to the treatment of African-Americans in the time setting of the novel. I agree that the vision of the past was not done in the most subtle way; on the other hand, the sight was communicated in a way that sends the message clearly to the reader.

David L. Smith’s expert analysis says that Mark Twain constantly targets and brings down the African-American race and “systematically dramatizes their inadequacy” (105). After reading Huckleberry Finn, anybody would be able to see this in the novel. African-Americans are always referred to as unimportant and insignificant in their lifestyle. However, what does this have to do with removing the novel from education? Just because Huckleberry Finn is taken off the shelves does not mean African-Americans, or any minority race, will receive justice with everybody else. By repeatedly portraying African-Americans as unimportant, Mark Twain creates the image of how life was like during the time period this novel was written.

The influence that Mark Twain’s living environment had is proven by Charles H. Nilon when he states that “After 1876 the Supreme Court most often interpreted the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments in ways that weakened the protection of black people” (65). With all this going on, it’s quite difficult to say that Mark Twain put only his own racist thoughts in Huckleberry Finn. With all these external influences, it must have been difficult to maintain a fair novel with justice among all races. Although it could be argued that Mark Twain was a racist himself, nobody can prove that he was truly anti-African-American at heart. The government’s poor treatment in African-Americans also played a role in the views expressed in the novel. Thus, if one chooses to criticize Mark Twain for his chauvinism shown in the book, they must also take into consideration the authority behind it.

In conclusion, I believe that removing Huckleberry Finn from our school would do more bad than good. It would create more arguments and controversy among the administrators, staff, and students. To negotiate with the people that believe Huckleberry Finn should be banished from our education, I would propose the following: the novel would be restricted from the students, and only those who would not follow in the novel’s footsteps in their treatment towards African-Americans should be permitted to read it for educational purposes. Basically, only those ethical and mature enough to consume only the positive knowledge out of the book would gain access to it. Thus, when a student becomes old enough to realize that this is not how to treat African-Americans in modern-day society, they would be permitted to analyze and be educated on the novel. With a high-quality instructor, students can work together and receive the correct guidance to extract the most they can get out of the book.