Dec 25, 2009

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Social Concerns

Although regarded as a classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has engendered controversy from the start. The Concord Public Library in Massachusetts banned it shortly after publication. In reporting approvingly of this action, the Boston Transcript noted that members of the library committee found the book "the veriest trash" and "rough, coarse, and inelegant." The Springfield Republican found the novel "a gross trifling with every fine feeling" and "harmful." These objections, grounded on the view that only idealized portrayals of young persons can be edifying, can be dismissed...