Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn (Paperback)

~ James S. Leonard (Editor), Thomas A. Tenney (Editor), Thadious M. Davis (Editor)
Key Phrases: evasion sequence, racist trash, white supremacy myth, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Focused less on Huck than on the black slave Jim, these 15 contemporary essays, representing various points on the spectrum between the views of Twain's novel as a racist document and as an indictment of racism, offer proof that, after 106 years, this American classic is still a live wire. Nearly all the essays try to furnish a historical and biographical context, and although some seem based on very selective readings of the work, the collection is valuable in forcing the white reader to re-examine Twain's familiar classic from a different point of view. There is an extensive bibliography.
- Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Though one of America’s best known and loved novels, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has often been the object of fierce controversy because of its racist language and reliance on racial stereotypes. This collection of fifteen essays by prominent African American scholars and critics examines the novel’s racist elements and assesses the degree to which Twain’s ironies succeed or fail to turn those elements into a satirical attack on racism.
Ranging from the laudatory to the openly hostile, these essays include personal impressions of Huckleberry Finn, descriptions of classroom experience with the book, evaluations of its ironic and allegorical aspects, explorations of its nineteenth-century context, and appraisal of its effects on twentieth-century African American writers. Among the issues the authors contend with are Twain’s pervasive use of the word “nigger,” his portrayal of the slave Jim according to the conventions of the minstrel show “darky,” and the thematic chaos created by the “evasion” depicted in the novel’s final chapters.
Sure to provoke thought and stir debate, Satire or Evasion? provides a variety of new perspectives on one of this country’s most troubling classics.

Contributors. Richard K. Barksdale, Bernard W. Bell, Mary Kemp Davis, Peaches M. Henry, Betty Harris Jones, Rhett S. Jones, Julius Lester, Donnarae MacCann, Charles H. Nichols, Charles H. Nilon, Arnold Rampersad, David L. Smith, Carmen Dubryan, John H. Wallace, Kenny Jackson Williams, Fredrick Woodard

Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822311747
• ISBN-13: 979-0822311743
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #327,138 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MANDATORY for teachers of HUCK, January 25, 2004

By	Heather H. Ordover "Mama O Knits Too Much" (Croton-on-Hudson, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great insights!, February 25, 2007

By	VD2400 (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.