Lesson Title: Censorship and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By: Vivian Easton
Burning Question:
If students understand the history of the controversy and attempts to censor the novel, will they be able to make their own informed decision regarding the value of the novel?
Context:
A high school class about to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
· Understand the history of censorship and controversy surrounding the novel
· Understand the complexities of censorship
· Take a stand on censorship
Materials:
· Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Puffin Classics). London: Puffin, 2008.
· Internet Access
Time Span:
1-2 days in class plus time for writing
Procedures:
· Step one: introduction
a. Ask students for their definitions of censorship
b. Discuss any personal experiences with censorship
c. Discuss positive and negative aspects of censorship
d. Discuss prior knowledge regarding the censorship and controversy surrounding the novel
· Step two: research
a. Students look up various websites regarding the history of censorship especially in relationship to Huck Finn
b. Students research the American Library Association’s position on censorship
c. Students research their school’s policy regarding censorship
· Step three: writing
a. Write an argument in which you take a position on censorship of reading materials in school.
b. Write a letter to the school district requesting that a certain book be removed from the shelves of the local high school. Follow your library’s policy.
c. Create a poster for Banned Books Week (last week of September)
d. Write an essay that reviews the reasons for banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from high schools and the reasons for keeping the book in high schools.
Extensions:
Once students learn about censorship and controversy as it pertains to literature, they should be able to make rational decisions regarding the appropriateness of text for different groups. This will also give them methods for analyzing current attempts at censorship.
Rationale:
Both The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are at among the most commonly-challenged books in the United States. Since its publication in 1885, various groups and individuals have tried to have Huckleberry Finn banned. It has been removed from library shelves; it has been rewritten and watered down to satisfy its critics. It is a mistake to begin the books without an in-depth discussion of its controversial history. It is also a mistake to simply assign the book. Both the controversy and the text itself must be taught in a classroom. Allowing students to research, discuss, and write about censorship in general and censorship involving Huckleberry Finn empowers the students to arrive at their own conclusions. Once this is done, students are ready to read the text for its other elements such as satire, friendship, freedom, etc.
Resources:
The American Library Association has written extensively about censorship and banned books. It also has links to other valuable sources: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm
Janows, Jill, Leslie Lee and Courtney B. Vance. Born to Trouble. WGBH Educational Foundation, PBS Video, 2000. This is available for download on the Pioneer Library’s eMedia site. It traces the controversy of Huck Finn from its first publication. The PBS web site which supports the video, includes suggestions for teaching the controversy: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/teachers/huck
School and county libraries: All libraries have a policy and procedure for handling complaints and requests to remove books from their shelves.
From the San Diego County Office of Education is a lesson plan “Censorship and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/huckcen/huckcentg.html
Primary documents from the 1885 Concord Library decision to remove Huckleberry Finn from the shelves are available from: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/huckfinn/hfconcrd.html
Rush, Susan. “The Anticanonical lesson of Huckleberry Finn,” Cornel Journal of Law and Public Policy, June 2002. http://www.mona.uwi.edu/liteng/courses/e34b/documents/Anticanonical%20lessonofHuckFinn.pdf. Rush makes a very thoughtful argument against using teaching Huckleberry Finn in public while ignoring black society’s resistance to the novel.
Champion, Laurie, ed. The Critical Response to Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn." New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
- Dudley, William, ed. African Americans: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
- Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn": A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.