Williams 1

Natalie Williams

Ms. Yates

AP English Language and Composition

2 January 2018

Mark Twain and Regionalism in Huckleberry Finn

The word “nigger” appears 219 times in Mark Twain’s novel, ​The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn ​(Messent). The word was previously used to dehumanize African Americans

during slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1880s; today the use of the word is not

taken lightly and considered highly inappropriate (Smith). Although Twain did use this

derogatory term often in his book while addressing Jim, an African American slave, his novel

still managed to align with the abolitionist movement. The lasting effects of the Civil War

inspired Twain to go against the stereotypes the southern United States had placed upon all black

people and write about an American ideal located in the Constitution; the right for all people to

be treated equally (Baltzell).

Today, the United States, as a country, is a destination for many immigrants searching for

equal rights that they may not have received in their native country. During the 19th century all

americans were not treated equally, only the North was a site where all people were the same,

but the South still had millions of African Americans enslaved. The Union victory of the

American Civil War forced the Confederacy, the southern United States, to abolish slavery and

free the black people (Bendle). Mark Twain himself was a Confederate soldier during the

American Civil War - a war essentially caused by the disagreement of legalizing slavery - and

witnessed the racism and brutal treatment that African Americans had to endure
 Williams 2

(Autobiography). The people who supported everyone having rights during the time period of the

Civil War were abolitionists, or Jim would have called them “ab’litionists”, and Twain was one

of the few Confederate abolitionists.

Abolitionists supported the American ideal for everyone to be free across the country no

matter if a person was located in the North or the South. Twain was born in the South but he had

travelled across the country and gained new insight and perspective about the concept of slavery,

and he realized that slavery was not right (Autobiography). While writing ​The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn​, Twain displayed Jim, the slave, as a person who was hopeful and had been

deceived by every white person he came in contact with. At one point, Huck was considering on

telling the slave hunters that Jim was a fugitive slave in order to keep himself safe (Twain 134,

139). His display of Jim longing for freedom throughout the chapters 16-18 displayed to the

white readers that black people were not inferior and had the same life goals as whites. Twain’s

writings demonstrated the slave perspective in order to convince his readers that all people

should be treated equally. ​The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn​ was an elongated statement that

was symbolic to the thoughts of Americans that supported freedom for everyone, all people are

born equally and should be treated equally.

Twain’s regionalistic writings showed how life was different in the North compared to

the South. He used a strong southern dialect, and he described events that commonly happened

only in the South,. The Civil War had split the United States between the North and the South

between the free states and the slave states respectively. Jim and Huck were originally born in

the South, but Jim was trying to escape to the North in hopes of gaining his freedom. He was

trying to reach the crossroads of the Ohio and Mississippi river which was located in Cairo,
 Williams 3

Illinois (Twain 140). In the North, Jim would be a free man; he would no longer have to worry

about slave hunters and masters like he did in the South. Twain displays the mindset that

southerners had toward African Americans.

Opposite to the North, they viewed them as dumb savages who could not have been

mentally able to provide a productive life for themselves even if they were free. Twain, being the

abolitionist that he is, believed the African Americans should always be treated equally to white

people no matter the location (Autobiography). American abolitionists questioned why life for

African Americans, similar to Jim, was drastically different in a matter of miles. It was wrong for

Jim to be tortured and owned as property; it went against the Constitution, that all Americans had

to follow, claiming that all people were equal (Baltzell). Why should another person have to

suffer so much pain just because of the pigment of their skin?

Twain lived through the abolishment of slavery and the Civil War, but he wrote ​The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn​ after the Civil War was over. Although the slaves were free, the

lasting effects of the Civil War caused African Americans to still have the will to migrate to the

North in order to escape the brutal treatment that they had to endure in the South (Black). Black

people faced so much negative treatment because of the stereotypes that white people had

developed to convince them that they were inferior. Unrealistic caricatures were created and the

American society labeled them as true to make African Americans seem less than human. Mark

Twain defied these stereotypes and caricatures of black people through the evolving mentality of

Jim. Throughout ​Huckleberry Finn​, Jim is obviously uneducated, but he is not incompetent. He

is able to develop and execute realistic goals, and he is aware of what is morally right. Jim was

not only able realize that society had wronged him with slavery but he was able to flee his
 Williams 4

confinement and travel across the country in a raft to freedom (Twain 134). During the process

of escaping to freedom, Jim made financial goals to save his loved ones from slavery with

money that he had saved up over time even though slaves were given few opportunities to get

money (Bendle, Twain 134). Twain paints a picture of all black people as being more than

property with the fictional character Jim.With Jim, Twain displays the theme that all people, no

matter their race, can achieve the same things with the same resources, and no one is inferior to

anyone.

Mark Twain’s regionalistic style with ​The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn​, displayed

how the lasting effects of the Civil War separated America. Not only did it separate America

between the North and the South, but it created groups of people who had abolitionist views and

people who did not. ​The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn​ was written from the perspective of a

southern person but it had the ideas of a northern person. Twain implies that slavery is morally

wrong and all people are equal throughout the entire novel. His fictional character of Jim defied

all stereotypes in the past and the present. Jim displays that all people are equal and should be

treated like it in all aspects of life.

 Williams 5

Works Cited

Baltzell, George W. “Constitution of the United States - We the People.” Constitution for the

United States - We the People, constitutionus.com/.

"Black, White, and Southern: Race Relations and Southern Culture 1940 to the Present."

Virginia Quarterly Review, vol. 66, no. 4, Sept. 1990, pp. 115-116. EBSCOhost

Bendle, Mervyn F. "The Outbreak of the American Civil War." Quadrant Magazine, vol. 55, no.

4, Apr. 2011, pp. 66-75. EBSCOhost

Messent, Peter. “Censoring Mark Twain's 'n-Words' Is Unacceptable.” The Guardian, Guardian

News and Media, 5 Jan. 2011,

SMITH, CASSANDER L. "Nigger" or "Slave": Why Labels Matter for Jim (And Twain) in

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Papers on Language & Literature, vol. 50, no. 2,

Spring2014, pp. 182-206. EBSCOhost,

"Autobiography of Mark Twain." Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting Analysis,

Context, and Criticism on Nonfiction Works, edited by David M. Galens, et al., vol. 4,

Gale, 2002, pp. 45-74. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Twain, Mark. “16-19.” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Signet Classics, 2008, pp. 91–107.
 Williams 6

Rubric Categories Exceptional, 10 Proficient, 8 Satisfactory, 6 Emerging, 4 Unsatisfactory, 2

Introduction 2.a. Appropriately introduce Appropriately Introduces the context Introduces the Fails to
the detailed context and a introduce the and identifies the an context and opinion appropriately
complex and logical context and an opinion on the topic on the topic in an introduce the
structure that presents a organizational in a clear and concise unengaging or literary context
clear opinion on a narrow structure that way rambling structure and
topic in a clear, concise, presentss an that lacks rhetorical/literar
and original way opinion on the cohesiveness y elements
topic in a clear and
concise way

Information 2.b. Consistently provide Provide logical and Provide explanations Insufficiently Fails to explain
effective, highly relevant, clear explanations for appropriate and provides text evidence
sufficient, and thorough for appropriate, relevant evidence; explanations for OR explains
evidence with a relevant and may resort to relevant evidence evidence that is
sophisticated sufficient evidence over-emphasis of that results audience not relevant to
understanding of the with an summary elements confusion or lack of the essay’s
audience’s knowledge understanding of the but with basic information thesis
AND provide clear and audience’s understanding of
logical explanations that knowledge audience’s
connect the evidence to knowledge
the main idea

Organization 2.c. Organize ideas so that Organize ideas with Organize ideas with Organize ideas with Iinsufficient
each new element uses effective and appropriate transitions appropriate transitions AND
effective and sophisticated between paragraphs to transitions between minimal
sophisticated transitions transitions between link major sections of paragraphs, but attempts at
which comprehensively paragraphs to link the text and create major sections of linking major
build on the preceding sections of the text cohesion the text remain sections of the
ideas to create a unified and create cohesion disjointed text
whole

Language 2.d-e. Consistently use effective Use domain Use appropriate syntax Insufficiently use Insufficiently
and sophisticated specific vocabulary and word choice to appropriate syntax establish a
language, syntax and and appropriate establish a formal and word choice formal literary
domain specific syntax to establish literary tone which destabilizes a tone
vocabulary to establish and maintain a formal literary tone
and maintain a formal formal literary and
literary and objective tone objective tone

Conclusion 2.f. Summarize the main Summarize the Summarize the main Summarize the Provide a
points using original main points using points while main points while conclusion that
language and clear original language addressing relevant addressing is unsupported
organization while and clear implications or unsupported by the preceding
providing a extension that organization while significance implications or essay
addresses the relevant addressing significance
implications or relevant
significance in a way that implications or
relates to the audience. significance

40 pts, 80% ​Jan 15-> Graded: 40 pts, 80%

 Williams 7

​Dec 21-> Graded: 36 pts, 72%

Introduction 2.a.
I​ t's great! but it's also too long. Try to reduce it by a 2-4 sentences/lines.
Information 2.b.
​ rovide an example from the book that suggests Jim wasn't incompetent (ie: the
P
frenchman's language argument)
Organization 2.c.
​ otice how topical shifts create natural paragraph breaks.
N
​Dec 13->Peer Reviewed: Satisfactory, 6

Teacher Rubric Settings: t05060tffn jyates _

50 pts Points Possible: