Huckleberry Finn given trigger warning by university over ‘problematic’ content

1884 novel has been placed under increased scrutiny in recent years

Mark Twain’s literary classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been given a trigger warning by Exeter University academics.

The novel, first published in 1884, follows on from Twain’s previous work The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Set in the pre-abolition US south, the story follows a river journey involving Huckleberry “Huck” Finn and Jim, a Black man escaping a life of slavery.

While the book has sometimes been hailed as a condemnation of racist values, Twain’s depiction of Jim has faced increased scrutiny in recent years.

Staff at the Russell Group university branded the novel’s depiction of the character “problematic in a number of ways, not least because of Huck’s use of the N-word throughout the novel”.

Per a report in The Times, course directors for Exeter’s American literature model described the book as “classic but contentious”, also citing “scenes of murder, violence and child abuse”.

They did, however, also acknowledge that the book “can be read as an ingenious way of representing the indoctrination of children into racist ideologies”.

The university course module will involve an explict discussion and debate regarding the value of Twain’s novel, taking into account the various popular and critical responses to its content.