Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

150 reviews

lifeisshortlikeme's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

(sorry in advance to the fans out there!) I know this is a “classic,” which is why I wanted to read it. I don’t recall ever reading it as a child, as many young people do. I had just finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (to which this is a sequel/spinoff) and rather enjoyed that one. I found this story disappointing in comparison, and the seeming glorification of gaslighting throughout became annoying. If I weren’t tracking books, I probably wouldn’t have finished this.

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maddiefight's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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camiandkitread's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a tricky book for me to review because while it's another classic adventure story, the constant, casual racism is distressing for a modern reader.

Huck does show a lot of character growth the more time he spends with Jim and eventually works to help liberate him but he feels that he’s doing the wrong this since Jim was enslaved. While it’s easy to dismiss this as just pure racism, I think it really shows how children often have a good concept of what’s right but can struggle with it if all they’ve been taught is what’s wrong.

It’s a classic book and features all kinds of typical scrapes and harebrained schemes that Mark Twain’s characters always have, but be prepared to discuss the overt racism in the book if giving “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” to a child.

Content Warnings