Your thoughts about Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn for today's kids

[SKL]

Yesterday my daughter was reading some random book and asked something about Mark Twain.  Then she said, "what's a n----r?"  So I'm not sure what that book was about, but she got a brief introduction to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  I said they were classic books and she'd surely read them sometime in the next several years.

 

I've long wondered how it affects children of color to read stuff like that.  I mean, at some level of maturity they can understand that it is historically relevant and all that, but can they detach from it?  I guess maybe it is comparable to how literature set in China talks about women?

[Lang Syne Boardie]

My son, who is in college studying religion and philosophy, places Huckleberry Finn in his list of "most important books of his life." His list also includes an awful lot of Aristotle, Shakespeare, The Chosen, the Bible, and a Greek grammar, if that tells you anything about his style. He read Huck Finn in 8th grade.

 

(Edited to add: He got some college friends to read it, with no success. They knew nothing of the context and found no sympathetic characters at all. It was declared a worthless book that children shouldn't read. So that's what his peers thought.)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Tibbie Dunbar

[EmilyGF]

I'm not sure at what age, but when you don't know/believe that racism was (is?) as bad as it was (is?) you won't understand what is going on today.

 

Learning that MS elected its first black senators in 1870, before impediments to voting were enacted, completely changed my view on voting rights (and made me want to puke when I think of the lost opportunity).

 

Emily

[poppy]

It's probably not the first time they've been exposed to dehumaning language about non-white people, if they've read To Kill a Mockingbird or Laura Ingells Wilder or really anything written more than 30 years ago (and plenty written since).  The stark, deliberately nasty language which Twain uses makes it pretty easy to use as a teaching tool, versus other older books where the racism is more oblique.  So I say go for it, in 5th grade.

 

Having said that, if they are black or identify as mixed race, that would probably change my answer.

[Ali in OR]

We did both books as read-alouds, Tom a year or two before Huck which is more difficult. The dialect can be a stumbling block for kids, but I could handle it as a read-aloud! And then we were able to discuss issues as they arose. I can't speak to what children of color think of these books, but I think Huck in particular is a must-read at some point.

[SKL]

It's probably not the first time they've been exposed to dehumaning language about non-white people, if they've read To Kill a Mockingbird or Laura Ingells Wilder or really anything written more than 30 years ago (and plenty written since).  The stark, deliberately nasty language which Twain uses makes it pretty easy to use as a teaching tool, versus other older books where the racism is more oblique.  So I say go for it, in 5th grade.

 

Having said that, if they are black or identify as mixed race, that would probably change my answer.

 

What would it change your answer to?

[poppy]

What would it change your answer to?

Depends on a few things. I know you are white , and I can't remember your daughters background .

 

It is not a book I would choose to assign at that age for a variety of reasons -- dialect, whether they knew the time period, and whether it might trigger upsetting feelings to a child based on her race or identity .

 

The difference here is the children are the one expressing interest.

 

I think it is appropriate for all audiences at high school level.

[Alicia64]

We did both books as read alouds when the boys were in 7th. I think it's cool to read the books with the kids so you can discuss along the way.

 

Tom Sawyer is one of my all time favorites.

 

Alley

[Guest]

They're excellent books and need no censoring for kids old enough to understand history and the nuance of it. I think the springboard they can provide for discussions on how different eras treated skin color and slavery in general is very useful. Kids need to be talked through that and Twain is a good starting point for a middle school child.

[Bluegoat]

Generally I think that with books like that, it might be best to wait until the child is able to formulate ideas at a certain level. Ask questions, and understand that people's ideas have changed, that our view of acceptable language has changed, and also that the same words don't always suggest the same things, if they are said in different times and places, or by different people.

 

With kids younger than that, I've used books that had some minor editing if they were otherwise worthwhile (like Noddy books, meant for younger readers.)  Others I might just pass by.

 

But I actually tend to think that for kids getting on to 11 and 12 and beyond, it is really important to learn these things.  And not just the obvious "people thought bad things in the past" but how to imagine themselves, as good people, thinking or speaking in similar ways.  It gives some real perspective of the limits we all have based on our time and place, and how avoid being judgmental in an unfair way.
 

[Kim in Appalachia]

In 2009 my family went to Disney World.  We had read Tom Sawyer as a read-a-loud, so without thinking about it to much I got Huck Finn as an audio book.  In my van were kids from ages 16 down to 4.  

 

It had been a long time since I had read Huck Finn, and I had forgotten how prevalent that one word was.  I first I kind of freaked.  I was nervous that my 4 year old would be repeating it.

 

We discussed the book and the use of that word.  The kids were taught why it was offensive.  We also discussed some of the more nuanced aspects of racism that were in the book.  It was a good discussion.  

 

Of course my boys don't remember the discussion now, but they do know that it's a bad word, as well as what is problematic in the ending.  

 

It's a classic book.  It's an engaging and well written story that perfectly captures a time and culture in US history that should not be buried but understood.  The book shows how Samuel Clemens, who leaned liberal, tried to reconcile his upbringing, his friends' attitudes, and his evolving understanding of the plight of blacks in the US, especially the South.  

 

I say read it and enjoy the discussion that follows.   

[Sneezyone]

I had to read it in a 6th grade class where I was the only black kid. I hated it. There was nothing in it, historically, that I didn't already know and the instructor was forever asking my opinion about this or that. I will not be assigning it to either of my kids and have alternatives available for DDs teachers should it come up.

[Carol in Cal.]

I didn't teach TS because it was so sarcastic and snarky, and DD was super sensitive to that--she would instantly be the same way all the time whenever she was exposed to it.  (We found this out thanks to the show 'Arthur'--thanks, PBS!)  I let her read it, of course, but I didn't assign it.  Naturally she loved it.

 

HF I was planning to have her study in 8th grade, so I preread it, and I changed my mind.  The n-word would have stopped me from being able to read it aloud--I just can't get that word to come out of my mouth--but at that age reading aloud is not so crucial.  What stopped me was the violence.  I still can't believe that that went over my head in junior high when I first read it and then in my sophomore year in high school when we studied it.  Huck's father beats him so badly that is he unconscious for a significant period of time afterwards.  Then he imprisons him and leaves.  The tarring and feathering had to have been much more seriously injurious than I figured when I was a kid.  So many things were like that, and I didn't feel equal to discussing the book because of them.  

 

Also, although it's considered the Great American Novel because Huck decides to go to hell to save Jim from reenslavement, I don't care much for that dichotomy and I don't think it's much better written than many other good books.  There are lots of them out there.  I didn't see a superior quality to this one that made studying it crucial compared to the others.  So we didn't.  I let DD know that TS had a sequel and didn't object to her reading it, but I didn't assign it or extensively discuss it, either.

 

YMMV of course.

[Joshin]

We read them both in 6th grade, along with some biographies on Twain. Mark Twain and Jack Kerouac are my two favorite authors, and both were men of their times trying to reconcile their differences in outlook with that of their contemporaries. Both failed in many respects, while they succeeded in others. Both said very offensive things, but while some some are offensive to modern people even more was offensive to their contemporaries. Kerouac, of course, isn't MS appropriate so I don't assign it until high school, and I offset it with a healthy does of Ginsberg as well.

 

I also love Tom Sawyer for whenever my mom and her generation complain about "kids these days" and how kids were so much more respectful in the past. I just look them in the eye and say, "Have you even read Tom Sawyer? Don't tell me that kids were perfectly behaved! That 11 year old was even dating - -two girls!" :P

[Pam in CT]

To my mind, the two are written for very different age groups.

 

Tom Sawyer is a boys' book, exulting in 10 year old BoyWorld, with a fascination with marbles and string and pirates and adventure, slowly morphing towards a coming-of-age story.  There's a bit of snarky backtalk and a lot of celebration of goings-on behind the adults' backs that some parents might want to pre-read for, but other than that, very appropriate for middle school aged kids.

 

 

Huck Finn is something else entirely.  Huck is the title character, and the *plot* is organized around him; but the moral arc of the story is Tom's slow realization that contrary to everything he'd been taught by family, church and society, this black man is actually a human being... and everything he'd been taught is moral and natural and right, is not.  It is a profoundly anti-slavery, anti-racist, anti-Church (of its time), anti-establishment book.  The current-day focus on the N-Word, while understandable at one level since it *does* need to be addressed, obscures this.

 

Like To Kill a Mockingbird, Huck Finn is a subtle, nuanced, layered story which requires a fair amount of historical background knowledge about the time and geography in which it is set, to "get it."  To my mind, it is really more suitable for high school (or adult) readers, although younger ones can certainly enjoy the adventure aspects of it.

 

 

[Guest]

Yesterday my daughter was reading some random book and asked something about Mark Twain. Then she said, "what's a n----r?" So I'm not sure what that book was about, but she got a brief introduction to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I said they were classic books and she'd surely read them sometime in the next several years.

 

I've long wondered how it affects children of color to read stuff like that. I mean, at some level of maturity they can understand that it is historically relevant and all that, but can they detach from it? I guess maybe it is comparable to how literature set in China talks about women?

I asked my sons and friends back when they read it. No big deal. They know the hate slang. Whats remarkable to them is that only anti-semitism is against the law. The most frequent hate they see and hear is toward women.

[HomeAgain]

 

Huck Finn is something else entirely.  Huck is the title character, and the *plot* is organized around him; but the moral arc of the story is Tom's slow realization that contrary to everything he'd been taught by family, church and society, this black man is actually a human being... and everything he'd been taught is moral and natural and right, is not.  It is a profoundly anti-slavery, anti-racist, anti-Church (of its time), anti-establishment book.  The current-day focus on the N-Word, while understandable at one level since it *does* need to be addressed, obscures this.

 

Like To Kill a Mockingbird, Huck Finn is a subtle, nuanced, layered story which requires a fair amount of historical background knowledge about the time and geography in which it is set, to "get it."  To my mind, it is really more suitable for high school (or adult) readers, although younger ones can certainly enjoy the adventure aspects of it.

 

This.  I honestly couldn't figure out the original question of the problem with the book.  We use it alongside other pieces published before and after to demonstrate changing attitudes and social contexts in contemporary literature.  Reading Huck, and then picking up the original Elsie Dinsmore books provides a great contrast for pro- and anti-slavery children's literature.

[SKL]

SKL, could you find out what book your daughter was reading? Did the book reference both Mark Twain and specifically use the N word, or merely Twain, and your daughter chose that as a means to open a discussion with you? I thought you've written before about your children and using the N word, in past discussions about MLK being introduced at their school.

As for age appropriateness, I'd say 10-12 for Tom Sawyer and high school and beyond for Huck Finn. I would certainly hope a black child that read it would have a kind and intelligent adult to guide them and all the other kids in the classroom. It's perfectly doable, but I'm guessing many teachers have failed in that way, for a myriad of reasons.

 

She said the book was "Bigfoot" and I am not sure what kind of book it was.

 

We don't say the "N word" around here.  The only time I ever said it was when explaining one of the reasons I admired Mohammad Ali - his comment in reference to "them Viet Cong."  At the time I told them that "N-" is an intensely offensive word that I don't say, but I was making an exception for that purpose.

 

I did bring up the MLK lesson in my kids' KG, but I don't think the "N word" was involved.

[Farrar]

I agree with Pam's comment above that they're for different audiences.

 

We did the Jim Weiss Tom Sawyer when my kids were younger - the year we did US history. I'd feel fine about doing the real thing as a read aloud for most ages, assuming you talked about the context of race in the book. The value of the book as a great work of literature outweighs the racism of the characters, and race isn't the focus of the story at all. The most memorable parts aren't anything about race - they're the fence painting, the grave robbers, them attending their own funeral, skipping school and church, etc.

 

I would wait on Huck until a child is really able to take it apart and understand it - definitely 7th and above for most kids.

 

I think the most important thing for all kids is that you read a variety of books by a diverse list of authors. So having Huck be one book among many that deal with race, and having others with different points of view, is key.