Pierre-Louis 1

Youry Pierre-Louis
Karen Tucker
ENC 2135
1 September 2015

Section1
The main idea of this essay is to analyze the effects of being blind to culture based on Mark
Twains novel Huckleberry Finn. Readers will want to start questioning the societal norms and
what why they adhere to certain morals. This essay will be a study of morals and traditions.

Section 2: Annotated Bibliography

Burns, Ken, Dayton Duncan, and Geoffrey Ward. "The Life That Shaped Mark Twain's
Anti- Slavery Views." A Union of Professionals. N.p., Jan. 2002. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/fall-2002/life-shaped-mark-twains-antislavery-views>.
The authors of the work explain the life of Mark Twain. They shortly describe where he was
born, what he did and his family. The authors did explain how and why Mark Twain was so
interested in slavery. Twain had an uncle who owned a farm. Farms in the south during Twains
childhood consisted of about 10 whites and 20 to 50 slaves. He did not realize there was a stark
difference between whites and blacks until one day when he saw them chained by a port. This
article describes a newspaper article Twain wrote of a slaves story, however Twain added no
humor in this article.

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Nilon, Charles H. Satire or Evasion? Black Perspective of Huckleberry Finn. US: Duke
University Press, 1999.
This is a book containing many African American voices and essays on the work of Huck Finn
and how Jim was portrayed. They make it clear that Twain created Jims characteristics based on
the stereotypes that slaves had in the late nineteenth century. During this time period there were
shows called minstrel shows. In these shows white people would cover their faces in black tar
and imitate blacks in a way to make them seem stupid and inferior. This was the national
perceptions of blacks. This could be seen by how Twain composed Jims dialect and behavior.
Milliken, Emma. "The Humanity/Ies Of Huck Finn: A Journey Down The River Of
Hope." Journal Of College Admission 216 (2012): 2-3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10
Oct. 2015.
This source describes a high school students comparison of himself to Huck Finn. He explains
that he had been placed in an honors class his freshman year with other prominent white kids.
These white kids were compared to what Huck was raised in, a society based on racism.
However as soon as Huck was just with Jim alone he realized that his race did not matter. He was
blinded by the voice of society. This student composed an essay that compares Huck Finn to the
modern forms of racism today.
SCHINKEL, ANDERS. "Huck Finn, Moral Language And Moral Education." Journal Of
Philosophy Of Education 45.3 (2011): 511-525. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Oct.
2015.

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Anders Schinkel identifies the relationship between conscience and emotion. Schinkel refers to a
writer, Jonathan Bennett, who wrote an article about Huck adventure with Jim on the raft. He
pinpoints specific moment when Huck was upset with himself because he thought that he was
doing something terrible to Mrs.Watson by stealing what was essentially her piece of property.
Jim however, was so joyous about being free that he called Huck his best friend. This made Huck
come to terms for being sympathetic towards Jim and his situation. This article identifies that
right from wrong depends on the person.
Levy, Leo B. Society and Conscience in Huckleberry Finn. 4th ed. Vol. 18. U of California,
1964. 383-396. Print.
Leo B. Levy describes the beginning of the book as Huck was being kidnapped by his father. He
expands among this point to describe Hucks father and why his father is vital to understanding
the novel. Hucks father depicts the natural ignorance of man. His father was a drunk, he stole
and was greedy. His father cared about no one. This displayed a large difference between a white
man and a black man, Jim. Jim had a good heart even though slaves were depicted as savage
beasts.
"Mark Twain Biography." Hannibal.net | The Hannibal Courier-Post. The Hannibal
Courier-Post and Gate House Media, Inc., Feb. 2001. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.marktwainhannibal.com/twain/biography/>.
This is a website based off Samuel Clemens. This website displays photographs of Mark Twain
as well as his life story. Through the use of this website one can visualize the life of the author.
Although this research paper will not be about a person, meaning it will not be a biography, it is
important to know the history of an author. I was able to read about his other works and why they

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were so popular, also I could understand his focus on humorous writing because it worked for
him.
Smith, David L. Black Writers on "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" One Hundred Years
Later. 2nd ed. Mark Twain Journal, 1984. 4-12. Print.
This article highlights a quote from Thomas Jefferson about his thoughts on the Negro. Since
the colonization period those from Europe have described black people as inferior to themselves.
They did so in order to justify their cause in owning another human being. This author clarifies
Mark Twains use of the word nigger throughout this novel. He writes in a manner to allow the
readers to comprehend that this novel is far from a racist work but rather an attack on the
American customs toward race and the African American.
Altenbernd, Lynn. Huck Finn, Emancipator. 4th ed. Vol. 1. 1959. 298-307. Print.
Twain wrote his novel ten years after the end of the civil war. Lynn Alternbernd describes the
Southern society as a society full of white supremacists. He labels the end of this novel as bizarre
because the novel went from such a serious tone to a tone of comedy. The novel went from a boy
trying to escape the norms of society to an adventure in freeing an already freed slave. The irony
within this novel depicts the irony among the American culture. Although the colonists were
fighting for freedom and independence from the British because they thought that all people
were to be given rights and freedom they still held human beings captive.
O'Connell, Heather A. "The Impact Of Slavery On Racial Inequality In Poverty In The
Contemporary U.S. South." Social Forces 90.3 (2012): 713-734. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 11 Oct. 2015.

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This article describes the differences in black poverty in the south over black poverty in the
north. Slavery had a lot to do with the way African Americans are now viewed and were viewed
by whites. The main issue is how do African Americans advance from the institution of slavery?
Jim in the novel must have advanced from slavery by trying to buy his family out of slavery and
becoming educated. Twain displays Jims character apart from the national perception of black
people in the United States. Therefore race essentially needs to be forgotten as Twain is setting
forth in his novel. Culture does not need to be forgotten however the stereotypes do.
Twain, Mark. Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Dover Publications,
1994. Print.
Twains famous novel about the adventures a young boy partakes upon in order to set slave free.
This book contains a variety of stories relating the follies of man and society as a whole; such as
a family feud in which the families forgot what they were even fighting about. However the main
argument in this novel has to do with a young boy fighting against the morals of society versus
the morals he knows to be right and wrong. Twain exposes southern culture as poison to young
kids such as Huck.
Section 3
I am missing my main goal. I know what I want to write about but I am not sure if I, personally,
know exactly how I want to explain this. My main feedback should be structure or format. I want
to write an essay based on a book and compare the book to society back in the antebellum period
to society today so that people will began to develop ideas for enlightened thought rather than
routine. Also I would like to write this essay in a tone of satire because Mark Twain is known for

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his excellence in satire. I will be attempting a hard essay but I would like to attempt it with my
first draft and if it does not work out then I can try something else.