The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

For every American who has read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it's a famous story ripe with iconic images of an era. Despite the fact that it was written more than 100 years ago, it delves into heavy subjects that still resonate in a very flawed United States: slavery, racism, and you know, humanity. Its messages are fairly transparent to the millions of American high school students who read this book every year (and if you went to Redmond High like me, you may have acted out a section of the book too). It's the "Great American Novel" and will continue to represent a defining period of the American existence that has and will have lasting implications. It is, in the simplest sense, an American novel.

But I'm in Thailand. So when my co-teacher asked me to present Huck Finn to my 5/1 class, I had a few questions.

Have they read it? No.
Do they know what it's about? No.
Do they know who Mark Twain is? No.
Do they know about slavery? Oh yes, we used to have it in Thailand.
But in the United States? Oh no, they don't know about that.
Do they know about racism? No, we don't have that in Thailand.

My instructions? Explain the plot to them and why this book is important in America.

Ok. Great. Slavery, cruelty and bigotry are intrinsic components of the development of the United States and our national identity. These issues encompass what are, in my opinion, the darkest days of the United States and some of the worst travesties committed in its history. Slavery and the continued racism that persists in America today are a side of the U.S. that I am deeply ashamed of. So, while explaining some sections the plot of Huck Finn may be simple enough, the reasons why this book is significant are far more complex and difficult to convey to non-Americans.

How do you talk about the "N" word with students who don't know about slavery? About Jim Crowe? About segregation?

How do you make them understand that these problems are still very much alive in America today, even though we have a black president?

How do you make it clear that Huck's friendship with Jim is unique, and would have been nearly impossible at the time?

How do you explain that some truths are not as self evident as they should have be, and that human beings are capable of horrific evil and profound dehumanization?

How do you teach them why this book has been controversial since it was published in 1884?

How do you explain slavery?

And how do you even begin to accomplish these things with a language barrier thrown in for good measure?

Nuance, complexity and the depth of something so evil as slavery - in a second language. I don't have confidence in my ability to do these topics justice when explaining them to native speakers, much less Thai teenagers. They are so integral to our history, and as a cultural ambassador, this is a huge part of my mission here. I want them to understand this about the United States, to grasp these crucial matters fully. But how?

The bigger question of Huckleberry Finn is: what do you do when you know your society, your culture and your upbringing is wrong? When it is inexplicably hateful and cruel? And when you are expected to abide by rules that further entrench this atrocity and oppression? Do you go along with it like everyone around you, shielded behind the masses, using the majority opinion as your justification? Or do you risk your reputation, your security and even your life to stand up for what you believe is right?

This universal and timeless question is the real point of Huckleberry Finn, and I want them to understand that, grapple with it, and apply it to their own lives and society. That is what literature (in my humble opinion) is supposed to do - it is supposed to make you reflect, question, analyze your own life. And this is such an important question - I want them to ask themselves this question. I want them to understand.

But how?