Customer Reviews

Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn

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As a high school teacher in NYC I never attempted Huck without first having the students read from this book. The essays are (largely) insightful and cogent in their arguments pro and con. The places where logic is faulty or Huck is poorly quoted to serve a political end are transparent, giving students a wonderful chance to flex their logic-muscles and make their own opinions about Twain's text. It is an invaluable resource and a very, very important book.

Having to read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" for a college class, I bought this book to do an indepth essay. No matter what, there will always be controversy surrounding "Huck Finn," but "Satire or Evasion" gives great insight into the debate about whether the book is racist--ironically, no one in this book can consistently agree with one another.

If you're a high school student or English teacher, you will find this collection of essays important in discussing the impact of Twain's long-canonized classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Much ink and video tape has been applied to the debate over the book's use of the "n-word," but this book embraces a variety of viewpoints, including the less popular views in literary criticism -- specifically the idea that this satire DOES NOT deal with anti-racism and African American characterization responsibly. If you have seen PBS' Born to Trouble, you know that Twain-bashers are not given much room at the literary lunch counter, eloquent support of the book notwithstanding. While I tend to agree with this more popular and positive criticism of Huck Finn, I found these rarely published perspectives essential and productive when putting the book on trial with my students. I highly recommend Satire or Evasion?, even if only for its positive discussion results.