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The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Samuel Langhorne Clemens

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Alexis Timm
Mrs. Mirosh
1st hour English 11
21 February 2017

To Read or Not To Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel published by Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name as Mark Twain, in 1884. The story is more than just a story however as many adults, parents, and educators believe that this book is unfit for a classroom setting. What they are unable or (unwilling) to see are the benefits of reading and analyzing this story. It allows students to understand history in context as well as understanding the vernacular of the time, it also allows opportunities for discussing conflicting views and controversial issues in a safe and controlled environment. History can be a vague concept to study and understand. …show more content…

(Leigh, Punchnels) While that is alright for a school to do that, and they have every right to do so, kids will come into contact with words like that again and they cannot be protected forever. For example, Huckleberry Finn has been banned in schools nationwide for using the word ‘nigger’ two-hundred and nineteen times over the course of the novel. (News, CBS) Many people have backed up and valid arguments for banning the book and they are entitled to their opinions. Some parents do not wish for their children to be exposed to the content in the story at the age of the child when the book is introduced. Violence and sexual themes in all forms of media have found their ways to today’s youth. In just the 32 years Banned Books week has been acknowledged, over 11,000 books have been challenged. (Leigh, Punchnels) The presence of witchcraft, encouragement of ‘damaging’ lifestyles, violence, and negativity are all reasons that books have been challenged in the United States. All schools and educational institutions of any sort have a policy regarding the selection of instructional materials. The Denali Borough School District in Alaska is a school system that opened up to talk about their policy. Alaska is one of the few states in the United States that allows schools to more or less govern themselves, giving them soft standards

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