Introduction

This exhibit will focus on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was published by The Charles L. Webster Company in 1884 and written by Mark Twain. The novel was written in the first person, narrated by the main character ‘Huck.’ The story begins in Missouri, in a town along the Mississippi river. The plot continues as a prequel to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). At the time it was published, to this day, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has has been steeped in controversy over its derogatory language, racial stereotypes and issues of morality. Opponents of the novel argue that because of its racially offensive language, specifically the use of the term “nigger,” it is not appropriate to be studied or read by elementary-aged children and thus, does not belong it schools. The book has been banned and challenged in schools in the United States with librarians as the primary opponents.