Defying Slavery Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In recent years, there has been a growing discussion about the seemingly racist ideas expressed by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn. In some extreme cases the novel has even been banned from public school systems and censored by public libraries. The basis for these censorship campaigns was the portrayal of one of Huckleberry Finn's main characters, Jim, as a black slave. Jim, is a "typical" black slave who runs away from his "owner", Miss Watson. At several points in the novel, Jim's character is described to the reader, and some people have considered the characterization to be racist. However, before you start censoring a novel, it is important to separate the author's ideas from those of his characters. It's also important not to take a novel at face value and "read between the lines" to capture its underlying themes. If you did this in relation to Huckleberry Finn, you would undoubtedly realize that it is not racist and is even anti-slavery. Through society, Huck and Huck's father, Mark Twain reveals a challenge to slavery. On a superficial level Huckleberry Finn might seem racist. The first time the reader meets Jim he is given a very negative description of Jim. The reader is told that Jim is illiterate, childish, not very bright, and extremely superstitious. However, it is important not to lose sight of who provides this description and to whom it is provided. Although Huck is not a racist child, he was raised by extremely racist individuals who, even if only subconsciously, ingrained some feelings of bigotry in his mind. It's also important to remember that this description, while somewhat sad, was probably accurate. Jim and the millions of other Southern slaves were allowed no formal education, were never allowed any independent thought, and were constantly mistreated and mistreated. Twain is simply playing Jim, a very realistic slave growing up in the South during that time period. To say that Twain is racist because of his desire for historical accuracy is absurd. Despite the few instances where Jim's description could be misinterpreted as racist, there are many points in the novel where Twain, through Huck, expresses his extreme opposition to the slave trade. and racism.