On language of Huckberry Finn
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Although probably no other work of American literature has been the source of so
much controversy, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is regarded by
many as the greatest literary achievement America has yet produced. Inspired by
many of the author's own experiences as a river-boat pilot, the book tells of two
runaways? white boy and a black man?nd their journey down the mighty Mississippi
River. When the book first appeared, it scandalized reviewers and parents who
thought it would corrupt young children with its depiction of a hero who lies,
steals, and uses coarse language. In the last half of the twentieth century, the
condemnation of the book has continued on the grounds that its portrayal of Jim and
use of the word "nigger" is racist. The novel continues to appear on lists of books
banned in schools across the country.
Nevertheless, from the beginning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was also
recognized as a book that would revolutionize American literature. The strong point
of view, skillful depiction of dialects, and confrontation of issues of race and
prejudice have inspired critics to dub it "the great American novel." Nobel Prize
-winning author Ernest Hemingway claimed in The Green Hills of Africa (1935), for
example, that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain
called Huck Finn...