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Mark Twain’s Views on Racism

Mark Twain’s Views on Racism. BY SAMANTHA PINKES. Twain’s Childhood (Railton). Grew up in Missouri Slavery was taken for granted His family owned slaves He never questioned having slaves He was told it was “Holy” He watched “nigger shows” for entertainment.

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Mark Twain’s Views on Racism

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  1. Mark Twain’s Views on Racism BY SAMANTHA PINKES

  2. Twain’s Childhood (Railton) • Grew up in Missouri • Slavery was taken for granted • His family owned slaves • He never questioned having slaves • He was told it was “Holy” • He watched “nigger shows” for entertainment

  3. Slavery– A Necessity? (Camfield) • Economy – does it need slaves? • The benefits of having slaves • Slaves became a mark of how much money you had and it showed your social class http://weblog.themadeiratimes.com/2006/07/25/thoughts-upon-slavery/

  4. Young Adult (Carter) • Fought in the civil war for the confederate side • The effect of work on the steamboats up and down the Mississippi river http://www.twainquotes.com/steamboat.jpg http://saraegoodman.blogspot.com/2011/01/disney-fication-of-huck-finn-american.html

  5. Beginning his Writing (Fishkin) • Experience while working in California • He started writing in newspapers, but no one would publish his anti-racism articles • In the beginning Mark Twain used satire http://www.ci.elmira.ny.us/history/pics/twain_young.jpg

  6. Societies Response to Racism • The press was unwilling to expose the injustices of racism and slavery for fear of the consequences and because of their own beliefs. • That didn’t stop Twain from voicing his opinions and speaking out against racism and slavery.

  7. Abolitionists (Camfield) • They were subject to violence if they talked openly about their views • They were also excluded from society • The Langdon family • http://thisismarktwain.com/autobiography/321.html

  8. Racial Views in Writing (Railton) • Twain’s views on racism are mixed in his writing • He uses the word “nigger” to describe slaves in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • Is it racism or was it just the way they used to speak? • In some books slavery is barely mentioned and in others it is the main topic of the book • The adventures of Tom Sawyer vs. Puddn’head Wilson

  9. Parallels of Slavery (Railton) • In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Jim is literally enslaved by a his master, but Huck is also enslaved by the ideas of society. • It takes Huck the entire book to finally come to terms with his ideas about Jim. When Jim finally becomes a free man, Huck can begin to realize that helping Jim really was the right thing.

  10. Separation Between Author and Narrator • Huck and Mark Twain’s views are clearly separated at the beginning of the novel: • “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly”. (Twain pg. 1) • Although Twain clearly separates his views from Huck’s, the environment that Huck lives in is very similar to the one that Twain grew up in. (Twain pg. 1)

  11. Racism In Writing • In the book, Huck talks as if he would speak in real life and his vocabulary includes words that are considered racist. • This does not mean that Mark Twain is racist. He just writes realistically.

  12. Works Cited • Carter, Stephen L. "Getting Past Black and White." Time in Partnership with CNN. Time, 3 July 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1820162,00.html>. • Camfield, Gregg. "Race." Twain's Life and Works. University of California, Merced. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://dig.lib.niu.edu/twain/racepr.html>. • Fishkin. Shelley. “Mark Twain and American Racial Attitudes.” Online Posting. Mark Twain’s Mississippi. 2005. Web. 1 April 2011. • Railton, Stephen. "Imaging "Slavery" in MT's Books." Electronic Text Center of the University of Virginia. University of Virginia, 2009. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/wilson/slavery/mtslavhp.html>. • Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. USA: Amsco School Publications, 1972. Print. • Pictures from Google Images

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