Essay about Examples of Racism in The Aventures of...

You walk into a diner in the 1950’s. Everything seems to be running normally, but then you are confounded when six college students of African American ethnicity sit down at the counter. When they ask to be served, they are refused, and told to leave. Black. Nigger. Slave. All were common words in conversation before the end of slavery, and even until the Civil Rights movement 100 years later. Mark Twain’s â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† provides clear examples of racism present in the mid- to late-1800’s, but with a central focus on showing how attitudes can change. Throughout the book nearly everyone Huck and Jim encounter treats Jim as if he is inferior and not worthy of respect or equal treatment. As the story progresses, Huck†¦show more content†¦Later in the tale, two con artists, the King and Duke, meddle their way aboard Huck and Jim’s raft. Before their entrance Huck and Jim are restricted to night travel due to slave catchers. The con artists have the ingenuous thought of tying Jim up so it appears to observers he is in custody and not on the run, allowing them to travel during the day. The racist thinking of the south in the 1800’s did not allow for the possibility of a free black American. Even if you were a free black American you lived in the constant fear of a return to slavery. The King and Duke pretend to be from England in order to pull off a heist, and they are roped into a conversation with the townspeople in which they compare the ways in which servants and slaves are treated. â€Å"’How is servants treated in England? Do they treat ‘em better ‘n we treat our niggers?’ ‘No! A servant ain’t nobody there. They treat them worse than dogs.’†(131) These discussions conjure up a comparison to the treatment of animals, while at the same time dehumanizing slaves by calling them â€Å"niggers.† Slaves were considered property at the time, not even considered fellow humans to some. Despite the many people who remain racist throughout the book, Huck begins to connect with Jim as the story progresses. While away from outside influences, Huck starts to consider Jim a friend rather than a slave.