Is Huckleberry Finn a Masterpiece or a Racist Book?《哈克貝利·費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記》是杰作還是種族主義作品？

閻雨初

Is Huckleberry Finn one of the greatest American novel？ The answer is “Yes.” The greatness of Huckleberry Finn is reflected not only in its language and theme but also its enormous influences on the readers. Although in the book Mark Twain uses the “n-word” more than 200 times， it is not a racist book; it is actually a great literary work making everyone rethink and reflect.

Twain’s discussion of slavery and humanity in American society in Huckleberry Finn was unprecedented and extremely profound. With humorous and ironic language he wrapped up a dark reality that people subconsciously choose to ignore or refuse to admit. The one example in the book is in chapter 32 when Huck was telling a story to aunt Sally about the steamboat accident. Aunt Sally asked， “is there anyone got hurt，” and Huck replied “No’m. Killed a nigger.” Then aunt Sally said： “Well， it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.” They just blurted it out， as if black people did not count， and their lives were worthless. This shows both Huck and aunt Sally do not think black people are real people from their subconscious. In the novel， Twain not only depicts the different lives of different social classes but also many local dialects and customs.? For example， in chapter 4， Jim said： “One uv ’em ‘slight en t’other one is dark. One is rich en t’other is po’.” Jim’s dialect was the unique slave accent in the middle part of the country during that period of time. This is also a reflection of the lives of slaves.

The reason why Twain uses the “n-word” so many times in the book is not that he looks down on them， but to inspire the people， and also spread the thought of equality. During Huck and Jim’s adventures along Mississippi River， the white child Huck went from discriminating against Jim at first to being touched by Jim’s kindness and finally chose to do the right things according to his conscience rather than social and religious rules. At the end of chapter 15， Huck felt extremely guilty after he fooled old Jim by telling him everything that had happened was just Jim’s dream. However， after seeing Jim’s reaction to his prank， Huck found out that Jim really cared about him， and he was his only friend. So Huck says： “I didn’t do him no more mean tricks， and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d’ a’ knowed it would make him feel that way.” This quote shows Huck was already changing during the time he was with Jim. Twain also depicts many white people who called themselves “civilized” but exhibit all kinds of barbarian behaviors， in distinct contrast to the kindness， loyalty， and honesty of Jim. This is Twain’s attack on slavery， and also a fightback against those who believed that black people shouldn’t have equality. “Don’t be any rougher with him than you have to， because he’s not a bad nigger. When I got to the boy， I saw that I couldn’t cut the bullet out without some help， and the boy wasn’t in any condition for me to just leave him to get help.” This quote indicates that there are some people in the book who believe that slaves are just as same as normal people， even better than some of the haughty white people， such as the King and the Duke.

In Huckleberry Finn， not only Huck’s change of attitude towards Jim symbolizes the changes of white people’s attitude towards black in American society， but Huck’s past experiences and future symbolizes the past and future of the United States. At the end of the story， when the reader comes to believe that Huck has really got rid of the bondage of the “white is superior” thought， and seen Jim as a completely equal human， he makes some racist statements again. “I knowed he was white inside， and I reckoned he’d say what he did say—so it was all right now， and I told Tom I was a-going for a doctor.” It seems there are many customs forbidding the development of American society， and discrimination is hard to eliminate. When Huck gave up the chance to “settle down” and choose to go for the adventure at the end， he said： “But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest， because Aunt Sally she’s going to adapt me and civilize me， and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” In this way Twain expresses his hope for the future of the United States. All people in the country should be like Huck. They should have the courage to break through stereotypical thinking and build a better， more civilized future.

This book is not only a reflection of the society during slave time but also inspires the readers to pay more attention to the issue of racial equality. Many critics say that the “n-word” is offensive. However， since the the story is set in a special time period， it would have been unreal if Twain did not use the “n-word.” Twain was a fighter who fights for the equality of black people. After reading Huckleberry Finn， one of the greatest novels in American history， isn’t it about time to put “Twain is a racist” thought to rest？

《哈克貝利·費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記》是美國(guó)最偉大的小說(shuō)之一嗎？答案是肯定的。《哈克貝利·費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記》的偉大之處不僅體現(xiàn)在它的語(yǔ)言和主題上，還有其對(duì)讀者產(chǎn)生的巨大影響。盡管馬克·吐溫在書(shū)中用了200多次有歧視傾向的“黑鬼”一詞，但這本書(shū)并不是種族主義的;它實(shí)際上是一部偉大的文學(xué)作品，一部讓每個(gè)人都進(jìn)行了深刻反思的文學(xué)作品。

馬克·吐溫在《哈克貝利·費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記》中對(duì)美國(guó)社會(huì)奴隸制和人性的論述極其深刻、史無(wú)前例。他用幽默和諷刺的語(yǔ)言總結(jié)了人們下意識(shí)選擇忽視或拒絕承認(rèn)的黑暗現(xiàn)實(shí)。書(shū)中的一個(gè)例子在第32章，當(dāng)時(shí)哈克正在向薩莉姨媽講述一個(gè)汽船事故。薩莉姨媽問(wèn)“有沒(méi)有人受傷”，哈克回答說(shuō)：“沒(méi)有，死了一個(gè)黑鬼。”之后薩莉姨媽說(shuō)：“啊，運(yùn)氣真好。有時(shí)候會(huì)真有人受傷?！彼麄兙瓦@樣脫口而出，仿佛黑人不算人，他們的生命也一文不值。這表明哈克和薩莉姨媽的潛意識(shí)里都認(rèn)為黑人不是真正的人。馬克·吐溫不僅描寫(xiě)了不同社會(huì)階層的不同生活，而且在小說(shuō)中融入了許多地方方言和風(fēng)俗。例如，在第4章，吉姆說(shuō)：“One uv ’em ‘slight en t’other one is dark. One is rich en t’other is po’.”（一個(gè)白，一個(gè)黑。一個(gè)富，一個(gè)窮。）在那個(gè)時(shí)期，吉姆的方言是美國(guó)中部獨(dú)特的奴隸口音。這種方言的融入也是對(duì)當(dāng)時(shí)奴隸生活的深刻反思。

馬克·吐溫之所以在書(shū)中多次使用“黑鬼”一詞，不是因?yàn)樗床黄鸷谌耍菫榱藛l(fā)他人，同時(shí)傳播平等思想。在哈克和吉姆沿著密西西比河冒險(xiǎn)的過(guò)程中，白人孩子哈克從最初歧視吉姆變成被吉姆的善良感動(dòng)，最終遵從自己的良心而不是社會(huì)和宗教規(guī)則去做正確的事情。在第15章結(jié)尾，哈克告訴老吉姆發(fā)生的一切只是吉姆的夢(mèng)，從而愚弄了老吉姆，他感到非常內(nèi)疚。然而，哈克看到吉姆對(duì)他惡作劇的反應(yīng)后，發(fā)現(xiàn)吉姆真的很關(guān)心他，他是吉姆唯一的朋友。所以哈克說(shuō)：“從此以后，我再也沒(méi)有卑劣地捉弄過(guò)他。我要是早知道他會(huì)那么難過(guò)，我也絕不會(huì)干那樣的事?！边@句話(huà)表明哈克和吉姆在一起的時(shí)候?qū)谌说目捶ㄒ呀?jīng)改變了。馬克·吐溫在書(shū)中刻畫(huà)了不少白人，他們自稱(chēng)“文明人”，卻做著各種野蠻的行為，與吉姆的善良、忠誠(chéng)和誠(chéng)實(shí)形成了鮮明對(duì)比。這是馬克·吐溫對(duì)奴隸制度的攻擊，也是對(duì)那些認(rèn)為黑人不應(yīng)享受平等的人的反擊?！皩?duì)待他嘛，別太過(guò)分了，因?yàn)樗刹皇且粋€(gè)壞黑鬼。我一到那個(gè)孩子所在的地方，發(fā)現(xiàn)非得有個(gè)幫手不可，不然，我就無(wú)法把子彈取出來(lái)。按當(dāng)時(shí)的情況，我無(wú)法離開(kāi)，到別處找人幫忙。”這句話(huà)表明，書(shū)中有些人認(rèn)為奴隸和普通人一樣，甚至比某些如國(guó)王和公爵這樣的白人偽君子更好。

《哈克貝利·費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記》不僅用哈克對(duì)吉姆態(tài)度的改變象征美國(guó)社會(huì)白人對(duì)黑人態(tài)度的改變，而且用哈克的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和未來(lái)象征美國(guó)的過(guò)去和未來(lái)。在故事的結(jié)尾，當(dāng)讀者相信哈克真的擺脫了“白人至上”思想，認(rèn)為吉姆是一個(gè)完全平等的人時(shí)，他又發(fā)表了一些種族主義言論?！拔抑浪蓄w白人的心。我也料到了他會(huì)說(shuō)剛剛那些話(huà)——所以現(xiàn)在事情就好辦了。我就對(duì)湯姆說(shuō)，我要去找個(gè)醫(yī)生?！边@就好像有許多舊觀念影響了美國(guó)社會(huì)的發(fā)展，導(dǎo)致歧視很難消除。當(dāng)哈克放棄“安頓下來(lái)”的機(jī)會(huì)，最后選擇去冒險(xiǎn)時(shí)，他說(shuō)：“不過(guò)嘛，依我看，我得比其他人先走一步，先到‘領(lǐng)地’去。因?yàn)樗_莉姨媽要認(rèn)領(lǐng)我做兒子，要教我學(xué)文化，這我可受不了。我先前經(jīng)受過(guò)一回啦?！庇纱?，馬克·吐溫表明了他對(duì)美國(guó)未來(lái)的期望。他希望所有美國(guó)人都應(yīng)該像哈克一樣，有勇氣突破固有的思維，建設(shè)一個(gè)更加美好的、文明的未來(lái)。

這本書(shū)不僅反映了奴隸時(shí)代的社會(huì)現(xiàn)象，而且喚起了讀者對(duì)種族平等的更多關(guān)注。許多批評(píng)人士說(shuō)“黑鬼”一詞具有冒犯性。然而，由于故事發(fā)生在特殊時(shí)期，如果馬克·吐溫不使用“黑鬼”一詞，那將是不現(xiàn)實(shí)的。馬克·吐溫是一個(gè)為黑人平等而戰(zhàn)的斗士。讀完這本美國(guó)歷史上最偉大的小說(shuō)之一后，是不是該把“馬克·吐溫是種族主義者”這個(gè)觀念拋棄了呢？