Same Effects, Different Contexts

"Applaude Le Negro"

The “Are Huck and Jim a minstrel show?” article points out the main aspects of minstrel shows. As I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I constantly thought of why Twain characterized Jim and Huck the way he did. Minstrel shows were a comic performance in which white men imitated African American stereotypes. This poses the following dilemma, “Did Twain intend to represent an imitation of black culture in a humorous manner (minstrel show) or did he try to use humor in order to criticize slavery?” The more I think about it the harder it is to choose which hypothesis seems more accurate. I decided to look up for other examples of minstrel shows and I found a video that depicted the minstrel essence. In this video two French men (I presume) imitate an African American singer. The fictional character they imitate alludes to Ray Charles. However, their imitation is disrespectful and depicts how humor based on racial stereotypes is morally wrong. Their exaggerated gestures portray this and relates to minstrelsy. The clip shows how racism is existent even in the twenty first century. I will leave to you the interpretation of this image.

Why It Aint Cool To Lose Flavor

With this blog I pretend to use hypothetical examples to show how censuring “Nigger” from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would destroy its essence. So I asked for various opinions regarding this controversy and here are some responses:

“It’s like eating a hotdog without sausage”- Nicolas Zuleta

“ Its like going to Paris and not visit les champs elysees”- Anonymous

“ Its like being sober during new years eve”- Barnard "Barney" Gumble (Simpson’s alcoholic)

Based on the three previous responses we can see how people consider “nigger” a key element in Twains work. Without it, verisimilitude and racist criticism would disappear. The novel would not longer be innovative but rather dull. I believe the suppression of this word would turn the novel’s moral and creative essence into nothing but a boy’s journey with a slave…

Huck’s Voice As A Proxy, In Search Of Meaning

This article is based on history and a thorough study of Mark Twain’s work. I think the specialists might be over- thinking Twain’s intention when characterizing Huck and Jim. Overall the most important argument was given by Mr. Kaplan. He said, “If you can claim that this is a black voice speaking, I believe the objection to the word nigger is to some extent defused.” Yes, the two hundred repetition of the word “nigger” has a deeper meaning than its own. And as stated by Mr. Kaplan Twain might get away with the usage of this word by using Huck’s voice as a proxy.