Mark Twain Novels

Mark Twain novels, especially Huckleberry Finn, are some of the most beloved ever written by an American author. Twain's novels also have the dubious distinction of being among the most banned in American history.

Modern Controversy
Every library holds Mark Twain novels among the shelves, but many schools have banned some of Twain's most popular books because of the language contained within. Huckleberry Finn features an escaped slave named Jim as one of its central characters. Although Jim plays a major role in Huckleberry Finn's re-evaluation of the world around him, the character is portrayed as childlike and uneducated. Racial epitaphs follow Jim wherever he goes.

Although Twain was simply writing in the language and style of his time, many readers cannot get past the overt racism displayed throughout the later parts of the book. Twain's intent was to show the humanity and wisdom of Jim, and to point out that those who held racist views were the truly ignorant. While the novel may have succeeded on these grounds at the turn of the 20th century, today some readers simply see it as evidence of the racism that was openly tolerated in American society prior to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

Abridged and rewritten versions of Huckleberry Finn have been published through the years. Academics deride these versions as censorship of Twain's ideas. Many schools have simply chosen to remove the book from their classrooms, or reserve it for elective classes, to avoid the controversy.

Twain's Talent
Twain wasn't the most prolific novelist, but the novels and works that he did put forth are considered literary masterpieces, as they were at the time of their publication. His work is diligent, charismatic and so very much alive that it is hard to believe writing was not his first calling. Some of Twain's most famous novels were written about life on the river, both as a child and as an adult. Because of his personal adventures in traveling, Twain had much to convey in his books. 

Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's most famous novel, was molded around Twain's best childhood friend, Tom Blankenship. The novel itself touches on racism throughout as Huck is in constant debate over whether or not to turn in Jim, who was both a friend and a runaway slave. In addition to the quandary young Huck finds himself in, due to the mixture of both white and black voices that Twain incorporated into Huck's dialect, the reader is faced often with this question: Is Huck himself black or has Twain portrayed him thusly so that the audience cannot be sure?

Another notable Twain work is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In this story, a 19th century machinist travels back to the time of King Arthur. Initially ridiculed for his strange ways and sentenced to death, the machinist uses his knowledge of science, history and technology to steal Merlin's position as Arthur's trusted advisor. Along with its satirical look at chivalry and more modern customs, the book is one of the foundational works of the science fiction genre.

Novels Published by Mark Twain

• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
• A Horse's Tale
• A Tramp Abroad
• Chapters from My Autobiography
• Editorial Wild Oats
• Following the Equator
• Huckleberry Finn
• Is Shakespeare Dead?
• Letters from the Earth
• Life on the Mississippi
• Roughing It
• The $30,000 Bequest
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• The American Claimant
• The Gilded Age
• The Innocents Abroad
• The Mysterious Stranger
• The Prince and the Pauper
• The Tragedy of Pudd'n Head Wilson
• Tom Sawyer Abroad
• Tom Sawyer, Detective