Literary Reviews of Huckleberry Finn
Twain's Masterpiece is One of the Most Banned Books of All Time
Sep 11, 2009
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most frequently banned books of all time but the reviews were mixed. Here is a sampling of public opinion of Twain’s masterpiece.
In 1885, the Concord Library in Concord, Massachusetts was the first institution to ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Their reasoning was “it deals with a series of experiences that are certainly not elevating.”
Why the Concord Library Banned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
According to the March 1885 edition of The New York Herald the book was pulled from the shelves for these reasons:
- One member of the library committee felt that “it contained but very little humor.”
- Another member found it “couched in language of rough, ignorant dialect.”
- A third member of the library committee said it was, “flippant, trash of the veriest sort.”
What Mark Twain Said About the Banning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, was well known for his sharp tongue. He responded to the banishment of his book by the Concord Public Library saying, "Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."
What the Newspapers Had to Say: Reviews of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The newspaper reviews of Twain’s controversial novel were mixed. Twain’s hometown paper, The Hartford Courant came down solidly in his corner saying, “In his latest story, Huckleberry Finn, (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade), by Mark Twain, Mr. Clemens has made a very distinct literary advance over Tom Sawyer, as an interpreter of human nature and a contributor to our stock of original pictures of American Life.”
Clemens once lived in San Francisco and The San Francisco Chronicle praised The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn saying in part, “Here is where the genius and the human nature of the author come in. Nothing else can explain such a tour de force as this, in which the most unlikely materials are transmuted into a work of art.”
But The San Francisco Daily Examiner disagreed, saying, “As a picture of life in the Southwest, however, there is little to be said in the book’s favor.”
The Boston Evening Traveler concurred with the Concord Library, “Mr. Clemens has contributed some humorous literature that is excellent and will hold its place, but his “Huckleberry Finn” appears to be singularly flat, stale and unprofitable.”
What Writers Say About The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Arguably the most famous quote about Twain’s masterpiece can be attributed to Ernest Hemingway who said, “All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. It is the best book we’ve had.”
H. L. Mencken echoes Hemingway’s feelings, “I believe that “Huckleberry Finn” is one of the great masterpieces of the world…”
In his article, “Huckleberry Finn Alive at 100,” Norman Mailer said, “The mark of how good “Huckleberry Finn” has to be is that one man can compare it to a number of our best American novels and it stands up page for page…”
But perhaps writer and Twain expert David Bradley has the final word, “a book like Huckleberry Finn is part of American Literature. You can’t get around it.”
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