Was Mark Twain a racist?

It all depends on the context. If it was a person speaking, then that is completely natural for the time period his books are in. If he is randomly throwing the “n” word out there in the middle of a random sentence, then he would be considered racist. But as far as I know, it is just the way that he makes his characters speak.

Even if some weren’t violent racists, it was the norm then to consider blacks second class citizens. It was just how more people were raised. Some say Walt Disney was a racist and anti-semite.

Just because he used the n word in his books like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer doesn’t mean that he’s necessarily a racist. I was in my English class one time, and we were reading it, and the teacher made sure that we knew that the word was there and that it was something that people used in that time period.

People were using the word then in daily conversations… why shouldn’t he have put it in his book? Sure, it’s controversial, but it also is more realistic.

Besides… Huckleberry Finn proves that the book is not racist. After all, one of the main themes of the book is a white boy helping a runaway slave—hardly a racist theme.

and just fyi, i’m black, so yeah.

The connotation of words changes over time. Mormon, Muslim, and Shaker were all derogatory terms for those religions at one time.

E.g., “Louisiana Governor Earl Long used n- in advocating full voting rights for Black Americans; in that time, like colored and negro, it was mainstream usage in the American South.”

You have to be judged by the society in which you live.
Comparing Twain to late 19th Century Americans, Twain was a Saint!
You can’t be hard on him for a word so commonly used then.

@troubleinharlem very good!

Mark Twain didn’t live in 2010 where you had to be a politically correct crybaby. He used the lingua franca of the time.

The fact that schools ban Huck Finn because of the N word is retarded. It’s classic literature.

@filmfann did not say the man was a racist. Just asked a question. Thought it was worth discussing. Personally, totally agree with troubleinHarlem!

Not at all racist. It is worth noting that Huck’s true father is Jim who gave Huck his tricks and shielded him from harm even as Huck helps Jim escape.

I am sad for those who cannot get past the use of the n-word in a legitimate context and thereby miss out on a truly great book. I am sadder that such foolishness is being institutionalized in schools.

I think its simple. He was reproducing the colloquial language. Using the “n word” in his time wasn’t racist, it was simply a way of classifying people. We’ve since moved beyond that, but its as ridiculious to expect something from back in the day to be politically correct as per our current terms as it is to expect it to contain information on how the main character received an open MRI for a medical issue. It doesn’t make sense and only the ignorant ignore the historical context in favor of labeling things they don’t understand.