The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Published in 1884 by Chatto and Windus in Britain and then in 1885 by Charles L. Webster in the United States, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was Twain's fourth novel and in literary terms his best. The plot takes on aspects of his familiar travelogues with the principal characters using the Mississippi to move through different parts of America. Where Twain moves past this basic premise is to introduce a satirical edge taking in the slave-owning culture and its comparison to a slave who is intelligent and well-meaning. The book was criticised in the twentieth century for expressing a racial aspect, through its language which involves the use of the word 'nigger'. Such criticism is mostly devoid of context, ignoring when the novel was written and, more importantly, Twain's intention of attacking the slave-owning culture that he'd witnessed in the Confederacy. Outside the politics, the novel is also open to criticism for Twain's decision to continue the narrative following Jim's sale 'down the river'.