The Secret Joys of Antiracist Pedagogy: Huckleberry Finn in the Classroom

When Huckleberry Finn's religious education was taken in hand by the Widow and Miss Watson, his impressionable mind was at first strongly affected—in his own words, he was all in a sweat—on hearing the story of Moses. Later, his interest in Moses cooled off, because Miss Watson let out that Moses had been dead a considerable time, and Huckleberry Finn, as he explains, took no stock in dead men.It was a very naïve reaction to history; but naïve reactions often reveal truths which are blurred by a more sophisticated attitude, and must somehow be recaptured before we can see things as they are. Huckleberry Finn may here stand as the babe or suckling out of whose mouth the historian is to learn wisdom.

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The Character of Huckleberry Finn

Philosophy and Literature ◽

10.1353/phl.2018.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 125-144

Author(s):

Kristina Gehrman

Keyword(s):

Huckleberry Finn

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Translating national history for children: a case study of a classic

Ilha do Desterro A Journal of English Language Literatures in English and Cultural Studies ◽

10.5007/2175-8026.2018v71n1p103 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 103-116

Author(s):

B.J. Epstein

Keyword(s):

Race Relations ◽

Adult Readers ◽

National History ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn ◽

Black Characters ◽

History Of ◽

Child Readers ◽

Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain’s classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is arguably about the history of theUnited States in terms of slavery and race relations. How, then, can this be translated to another language and culture, especially one with a very different background in regard to minorities? And in particular, how can this be translated for children, who have less knowledge about history and slavery than adult readers? In this essay, I analyse how Twain’s novel has been translated to Swedish. I study 15 translations. Surprisingly, I find that instead of retaining Twain’s even-handed portrayal of the two races and his acceptance of a wide variety of types of Americans, Swedish translators tend to emphasise the foreignness, otherness, and lack of education of the black characters. In other words, although the American setting is kept, the translators nevertheless give Swedish readers a very different understanding of theUnited Statesand slavery than that which Twain strove to give his American readers. This may reflect the differences in immigration and cultural makeup inSwedenversus inAmerica, but it radically changes the book as well as child readers’ understanding of what makes a nation.

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The Role of Superstition in Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Comparative Study

English Language and Literature Studies ◽

10.5539/ells.v6n1p37 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 37

Author(s):

Jamal Subhi Ismail Nafi’

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Social Factors ◽

Religious Beliefs ◽

Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn ◽

The Past ◽

The People ◽

The Universe ◽

Shed Light ◽

Huckleberry Finn

This article is an attempt to explore the inclusion and the use of superstitious elements in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and Shakespeare’s play Macbeth (1611). Superstition involves a deep belief in the magic and the occult, to almost to an extent of obsession, which is contrary to realism. Through the analytical and psychological approaches, this paper tries to shed light on Twain’s and Shakespeare’s use of supernaturalism in their respective stories, and the extent the main characters are influenced by it. A glance at both stories reveals that characters are highly affected by superstitions, more than they are influenced by their religious beliefs, or other social factors and values. The researcher also tries to explore the role played by superstition, represented by fate and the supernatural in determining the course of actions characters undertake in both dramas. The paper concluded that the people who lived in the past were superstitious to an extent of letting magic, omens; signs, etc. affect and determine their lives; actions and future decisions. They determine their destiny and make it very difficult for them to avoid it, alter it or think rationally and independently. And that, man’s actions are not isolated, but closely connected to the various forces operating in the universe.

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