Narrow-minded readers will misinterpret the meaning of great American novels. In July 1876, exactly a century after the American Declaration of Independence, Mark Twain began writing his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is a novel that illustrates the social limitations that people are forced into because they are exposed to society. This novel has sparked generations of controversy regarding the racist aspects it contains. Critics who argue that the novel is racist primarily argue that the portrayal of one character, Jim, is designed to be negative. This assumption stems from Twain's profound use of the word "n****." At the time the novel was written, the use of this word was very common towards slaves and blacks. Although this word is used countless times in the novel, the reason behind Twain's use of the word was not to identify any character with negative traits, but to satirize users of the word and knowledge of white superiority with racism. It satirizes and explores the ignorance of Southern and religious whites. The novel is about a young boy named Huckleberry Finn who, due to his adventurousness, curiosity, and fear of his father, runs away from home. Shortly after escaping, Huck meets a runaway slave he is familiar with named Jim. Together, Huck and Jim drift down the Mississippi River avoiding society at all costs. During their adventure they develop a friendship. Many assumptions are made about how Twain intended readers to perceive Jim. Furthermore, Twain exposes the ignorance and racist views of civilized and "sane" people to create a positive illustration of Jim along with his influence on Huck. Although using the offensive word "n****" commonly..... .middle paper...n could have avoided using it, except that without its use it would have been difficult for Twain to illustrate Jim as the opposite of the person negative with which he had been labeled. Given the structure of Twain's approach, it is not surprising that many critics and readers find the book racist. Those who do so are clearly misunderstanding or simply ignoring the novel's antipathy to racism. Once again, with Jim's evidence of intelligence and morality, he strives to distance himself from those dark people he is surrounded by. Overall, Twain focuses on Jim being a positive, moral, and fair person who brings good influences to Huck and realizes his significance of putting racism behind the scenes. For anyone who reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and gets nothing but racism and a negative story from this story, they have committed the worst crime in the history of American literature.