Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Idiots: So Easy


After reading Blackface Minstrelsy I reinforced my position that MT did not make a mistake when using the word nigger in his books. It was used during the time when the books took place and should not be removed. The author shares a Twain’s opinion on Minstrel shows and we can clearly see that his era was one of discrimination: 1906 Twain “said, using a word that would have bothered almost no white Americans at the time but which now makes us wince, that "the genuine nigger show, the extravagant nigger show" was "the show which to me had no peer" and "a thoroughly delightful thing"” (Blackface Minstrelsy). We should not try to hide the past but use as an example for the present. I know it is a cliché but, in this case, it applies.

Because we do not know why twain wrote in such a funny or offensive way, depending on how you look at it, I prefer to think that is was part of his plan to make the book humorous. The conversation between Huck and Jim are, on several occasions, funny. It is much nicer to look at the book with a lighter air and enjoy it for what it is.

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