Click to play videoMumbai: Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a book that was probably the first of its kind and spoke about racism in a characteristic manner, completes 122 years of its publication this year.
“Mark Twain said ‘persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot’,” writer Jerry Pinto reads out.
But at the same time there were those who thought differently.
Author Earnest Hemingway once said that all modern American literature comes from Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
“It’s a magically funny book and transports you into another world,” says Pinto.
The book was published on February 18, 1885 and completed 122 years this year.
This sequel to The Adventures of Tom Swayer was probably the most talked about book of Mark Twain. It is a story about Huckleberry Finn, a young boy and his adventures with his friend Jim, who is a runaway slave.
On one hand the book was considered racist but on the other hand it was also touted as the best critique on racism.
What makes the book so effective is that Huck is too innocent to understand what's wrong with his society and what's right with his transgressive behaviour.
But over the years the book, which is full of sarcasm and thrilling twists, does not have too many readers left.
“I tried reading it but couldn’t go beyond the first few pages,” a young reader at a bookstore said.
While another youngster said, “I like more of those magical and alien creatures than classics.”
Whether it was for the controversies or the sheer joy of reading, Huckleberry enjoyed his popularity for over a century. But now, he seems to be loosing his battle with the new age entertainment and wilder but often unreal characters.
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