Huckleberry Finn

            Since the time of its publication in 1884, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has generated heated controversy. One of the most frequent banned books in the history of literature, it raises issues of censorship, civil disobedience, and race relations as relevant today as they were in the 1880's. Although the book sold well, many critics in Mark Twain's time condemned it as coarse and offensive. In fact, many school districts and public libraries have banished the book from the shelves. Due to Mark Twain's incredible ability to write a text realistic enough to allow younger generations, not raised in a society as racist as the 1880's, to relive life as it was when Twain was growing up, many people are quick to read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and label Mark Twain as a racist. However, with a deep examination of Twain's novel, people would come to the conclusion that Twain is not a racist, but instead an astonishing writer who was unfortunately raised in a racist society.
             Twain a racist? The answers to these questions lie in the examination of Mark Twain's life and historical era, incidents and character comments throughout Huckleberry Finn, and reviews by critics of many races. Researching the life and times of Mark Twain, led to various facts that negate the popular opinion that he was a racist. Born Samuel Langhorn Clemens on November 30, 1835 in Missouri, Mark Twain witnessed an era of accepted slavery and racism. (Roberts, 5). Growing up in the slave state of Missouri, Twain's father was a slave trader several times in his man occupational ventures. After his father's death Twain spent several summers with his uncle, John Quarles, who owned twenty slaves which provided Twain with an up close view of slavery in action. Twain was deeply affected by witnessing the brutal murder of a slave by a rock-throwing white man for the crime of "merely doing something awkward.