Planning your essay …

1. Planning your essay … Should Huck Finn stay part of the eleventh grade curriculum?

2. Introduction and Thesis • Keep it concise, to the point and reflect the topic. • Remember to: • Mention the novel title and author. • Mention the controversy surrounding the novel. • Conclude with a developed three part or a broader “umbrella” thesis.

3. Sample Thesis • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should remain part of the American Literature curriculum because it provides students the opportunities to evaluate …… • Determine reasons why Huck Finn should stay …. Or • Determine reasons why Huck Finn should go ….

4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stay in the American Literature Curriculum because it is historically relevant, it provides a non-threatening forum for students to evaluate racial issues for the past 150 years, and it provides relevant themes for classroom discussion.

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stay in the American Literature Curriculum because it allows students to take a deeper look at numerous issues still relevant today.

6. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be removed from the AP Language Curriculum because it is racially insensitive and demeans minority students in the classroom, provides a distorted view of history, and supports and encourages the continued use of racial stereotypes.

7. Look over your quote selections and determine your reasons for the novel’s place or removal in the curriculum.

8. Now that you have read the book, what do you think? Your personal views are essential in helping you create the passion and voice for your writing. Make that come through. If your “voice” (your attitude / passion, etc.) is missing, your essay won’t be as convincing.

9. Topic Sentences • Huck Finn allows students the opportunity to evaluate race issues with a lens on the past. • Huck Finn is educative in that it provides a snapshot of life during the slavery era rounding out the American History curriculum. • The use of the racial slur “nigger” in Huck Finn is demeaning and offensive to minority students; too many students are hurt by this word, so the novel should not be required reading.

10. In-text Citations • Twain scholar Jocelyn Chadwick notes that “somewhere along the way, we’ve gotten the mistaken notion that learning should be painless. I worry about that. Learning has never been painless …... I’m at a loss at what point we slipped into that slippery slope” (Born to Trouble). • Twain scholars argue that Huck Finn is a racist book because it says that black people lie, black people steal, and that black people are not important (Wallace 16). • John Wallace argues that Huck Finn is not acceptable classroom literature because it says that “black people lie, black people steal, and that black people are not important. Any book that says that is a racist book” (16).

11. Works Cited Page • Minimum three sources • Easybib.com