Review for the MFC Book Club Written By: K. Mach

Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Review for the MFC Book Club written by: K. Mach

What’s the value in reading a classic? Getting to look at society through the telescope of time.

Last year the MFC Book Club kicked off its season by reading the classic The

Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck. This year we started with The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Several people who joined the discussion had read the book before, but everyone came away from the table with a new understanding.

That’s the power of discourse.

Twain wrote a book about a difficult topic – slavery and its invasive twin, racism.

At first glance, the book may seem to be about a kid, a raft, and a river, but it is much more than that. The book is really about the impact of slavery on society – all of society.

The story was written post-Civil War but takes place before the war, which makes for an interesting perspective. Twain used the distance of time and the craft of humor to make powerful social comments. These comments transcend time and are lessons we can connect with over one hundred years later.

As you read the book you may come to realize, as we did, that no one in our country, or our world, is unaffected by the racial slavery which occurred in the United

States. Every single one of us bears the scars, and every single one of us plays a critical part in the healing. Each day that goes by, and each time a person does what is morally right and conscious, we get closer to our ultimate goal, but we will always bear the scar. Still, scars are good reminders. They warn us not to be foolish again. Much like a kid looks at his scar and is reminded not to stand on dead branches when climbing a tree, an adult reads Huckleberry Finn and is reminded of our nation’s painful history. We are reminded that certain words, stereotypes, and ideas are heavily laden with that history – they come with their own baggage and should not be tossed about.

Twain’s book about a runaway slave, Jim, and the Voltaire-style innocent, Huck, act as a scar, a reminder of where we came from and why we need to keep moving forward. A reminder that the job is not done until each one of us sees value in the other.

Make no mistake. Huckleberry Finn is difficult to read. It’s painful to look our history in face – full in the face, and it makes you squirm. But a little bit of that squirming is good; it’s a helpful reminder of how far we have come and that we should never take our civil rights for granted. The cost of going back is far too great.

Join us next time as we embark on a time travel journey back to the sixties with

Steven King in his new book 11/22/63. We will meet for our discussion October 30, at

The MFC Book Club, guaranteed discussion to make you think.