Controversies With Timeless Pieces (Pt. 2) by Saanvi Kunisetty

 Controversies With Timeless Pieces (Pt. 2)

Saanvi Kunisetty

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

This book is about a young boy named Tom Sawyer who absolutely loves getting into mischief with his homeless friend Huck, and gets caught up in a court case involving a criminal named Injun Joe. This book was criticized specifically during the time period it was written and published (1870s-1880s), because America was going through a phase of attempting to better children and future generations by giving the act of instilling moral values in a child from a young age utmost importance. Readers during this time felt as though Twain’s book tried to prove the exact opposite. Though Tom was involved with many naughty things, such as getting out of chores, pranking his friends, lying to his Aunt, and lacking focus in school, he was often rewarded regardless. When getting caught up in the criminal case with Injun Joe, and then venturing into the depths of an unknown cave with his girlfriend Betty where he gets lost, he does not face consequences. Instead, the parents of the town adore him for his bravery, and he even finds the money that Injun Joe was hiding, and gets to split it with Huck. This approval of misbehavior is what made this piece receive so much criticism.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

This book revolves around the narration of a young homeless boy named Huck who is on the run with a runaway slave named Jim, both of whom are travelling along the Mississippi River on a raft. During the time period during which it was originally written and read, many people felt that Huck was a slum, and the book was not elegant and alleviating, but rather coarse and harsh. Many readers also felt Huck to be a very rash and violent child, going against all religious and social beliefs, and declaring triumphantly that he is perfectly willing to help Jim find freedom, even if it means he is ultimately on the path to Hell. Nowadays, the book is considered controversial due to its racial stereotypes, and repetitive use of “n-word.” Some professors have even taken to publishing the book again and replacing the word with “slave” instead, saying that this is a more classroom-appropriate choice of wording. Though Twain’s intention of the book was to address these racial stereotypes and disprove them, many critics feel that Twain did not live up to that, and failed to present that to the people.