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Chau Pham
Mr. Kumin
English II H
03 March 2010
Huckleberry Finn the greatest American Novel
Published in 1885, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain received a barrage of
criticism. Concord Library in Massachusetts banned the book for its “indecency” while many high
schools removed it from students’ reading list because of the usage of the n-word. Such controversies,
however, did not prevent Huck Finn from achieving its popularity. Ernest Hemingway once
commented “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry
Finn.” What makes the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a book banned since its publication, become
one of the greatest American novels? Like many other writers who appreciate the novel, Hemingway
understands that Huckleberry Finn was more than just a story about a boy and a raft. Through the
journey to find freedom of a thirteen-year-old white boy and a slave down the Mississippi River,
Twain actually condemns many social issues prevailed in American society during the pre-Civil War
period. It was such “indecency” of the language, the setting of Southern America twenty years before
the Civil War and Twain’s critical view on racism and slavery that make the Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn a paradigm of American Literature.
Unlike many other classics, the novel is written in the distinct Southern voice of a low educated
boy from the Mississippi River, Huck Finn. His diction is always simple, and originated from the
everyday conversations. Huck’s honest accounts create a colloquial style of the story. This informal
tone brings the readers closer to the people of Mississippi River and to different regions of the
Southern America. Twain’s use of regional dialects in his narration sets his novel apart from other

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contemporary works. Breaking away from ordained dictions and figurative language, the Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn gives modern readers a real sense into life in Southern America.
Through Huck’s adventure with the runaway slave, Twain introduces to his readers one of the
biggest issues of American society: racism. Huck is a white boy who grew up in a racist Southern
society and is taught by slave-owners like Ms. Watson and Widow Douglass. No matter how
uneducated Huck might be, he has a different social status than Jim does. But this fact made no
difference in the relationship between Huck and Jim which later evolves in the story. On his journey
down the Mississippi River, Huck’s conscience is constantly put on trial as he realizes, against what he
was taught, that Jim is a human being too. Jim might be slow in understanding concepts but his love
for family is the same to the love white people have to their family. Huck is able to realize that and
finally overcomes his own conscience, which is formed by his society, to act on what he believes is
right. Twain’s account of a white boy saving his slave friend was an attempt to expose and amend the
flaws that long rooted in American society.
Twain writes the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in his Southern accent. He has his main
character, Huck, a typical boy of the South told the story. The adventure is set along the Mississippi
River; and about Huck’s helping the runaway slave find his freedom. Above all, the novel centered on
how Huck goes against the society morality to save Jim . Until this point, is it safe to conclude that the
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an all-american novel?