History YMMV / AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn

!!1993 Film

** With Jim's leg chained to a bedpost, Tom at one point suggests that they may have to [[Film/{{Saw}} saw his leg off]] so he can escape.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The novel is undoubtedly a classic, but it's also very well-known for the numerous times it has been banned for its persistent use of the n-word. [[InvertedTrope Those who have actually]] [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch read the novel]] know that the slave character, Jim, is [[ObfuscatingStupidity actually the smartest character in the story]], and as demonstrated by Huck's BigDamnHeroes moment to save Jim from capture despite honestly believing he will go to Hell for it, but that [[YouAreWorthHell Jim is worth Hell]], the novel ultimately condemns racism and slavery.

* EvenBetterSequel: While ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' is still a good book, ''Huck Finn'' is widely considered better. The former is full of AgeAppropriateAngst and misadventures of the Antebellum South in the 1860s. The latter is a condemnation of slavery and a powerful message about [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight standing up for what you believe in]]. ''Huckleberry'' is regularly taught in schools, while ''Sawyer'' is generally just regarded as a famous kids' book.

* SignatureScene: Huck's refusal to rat Jim out, even defiantly declaring "I'm going to Hell" is considered to be one of the most powerful moments in not just the book, but American literature as a whole.

* FairForItsDay: It's now considered by some to be racist, but is actually a satirical work condemning slavery. It's seen as racist for the outdated terms (the n-word being commonly used, whether intended badly or not) but it was radical then. And while Jim is portrayed as being [[BookDumb ignorant]] (being Black at that time, he had not received any sort of formal education; Huck has a hard time explaining how it is that French people don't speak English) he is by no means stupid. In fact, he's generally the smartest guy in the room.

** Miss Watson, the Widow Douglas's sister, tells Huck about "The Bad Place," and Huck, bored to tears, tells her he wishes he were there. She scolds him for saying that, and then tells him she lives ''her'' life so as to be taken into Series/TheGoodPlace.

* MisaimedFandom: Inverted. Sometimes condemned as an unironic endorsement of Civil War-era racism due to its extremely liberal use of "nigger" and its somewhat stereotypical portrayal of Jim, despite the fact that the book's primary message is to criticize slavery as inhumane, and that Jim actually subverts many of the contemporary UncleTomfoolery stereotypes. Tellingly of the book's true intent, Huck, believing that even ''God'' is prejudiced against his black friend, renounces all hope of Heaven for ThePowerOfFriendship.

* FairForItsDay: It's now considered by some to be racist, but is actually a satirical work condemning slavery. It's seen as racist for the outdated terms (nigger being commonly used, whether intended badly or not) but it was radical then. And while Jim is portrayed as being [[BookDumb ignorant]] (being Black at that time, he had not received any sort of formal education; Huck has a hard time explaining how it is that French people don't speak English) he is by no means stupid. In fact, he's generally the smartest guy in the room.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The novel is undoubtedly a classic, but it's also very well-known for the numerous times it has been banned for its persistent use of the word "nigger". [[InvertedTrope Those who have actually]] [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch read the novel]] know that the slave character, Jim, is [[ObfuscatingStupidity actually the smartest character in the story]], and as demonstrated by Huck's BigDamnHeroes moment to save Jim from capture despite honestly believing he will go to Hell for it, but that [[YouAreWorthHell Jim is worth Hell]], the novel ultimately condemns racism and slavery.

** The free use of "nigger" throughout the story has put the novel in the crosshairs of many modern parents in spite of the novel's anti-slavery message.

* FairForItsDay: It's now considered by some to be racist, but is actually a satirical work condemning slavery. It's seen as racist for the outdated terms (n-word being commonly used, whether intended badly or not) but it was radical then. And while Jim is portrayed as being [[BookDumb ignorant]] (being Black at that time, he had not received any sort of formal education; Huck has a hard time explaining how it is that French people don't speak English) he is by no means stupid. In fact, he's generally the smartest guy in the room.

* IAmNotShazam: At no point in the novel is Huck's companion ever called "[N-word] Jim"--that came from various descriptions and ties-in to the book shortly after its publication, most notably by Creator/ErnestHemingway.
* MisaimedFandom: Inverted. Sometimes condemned as an unironic endorsement of Civil War-era racism due to its extremely liberal use of the N-word and its somewhat stereotypical portrayal of Jim, despite the fact that the book's primary message is to criticize slavery as inhumane, and that Jim actually subverts many of the contemporary UncleTomfoolery stereotypes. Tellingly of the book's true intent, Huck, believing that even ''God'' is prejudiced against his black friend, renounces all hope of Heaven for ThePowerOfFriendship.

** The free use of the n-word throughout the story has put the novel in the crosshairs of many modern parents in spite of the novel's anti-slavery message.

* WriterCopOut: Creator/ErnestHemingway thought so, saying that it was a great book but that "if you read it, [[SnicketWarningLabel you must stop where the [N-word] Jim is taken from the boys.]] That is the real end. The rest is just cheating."

* HilariousInHindsight: With Jim's leg chained to a bedpost, Tom at one point suggests that they may have to [[Film/{{Saw}} saw his leg off]] so he can escape.

** Both unintentionally, as discussed above, and intentionally in regard to Huck's unwillingness to return Jim to slavery. Huck decides to be a CardCarryingVillain, and most of those around him proclaim themselves good and him evil, but the way it's written makes it clear that they're not good, and he's a morally righteous rebel, or at worst a NobleDemon.

* EvenBetterSequel: While ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' is still a good book, ''Huck Finn'' is widely considered better. The former is full of AgeAppropriateAngst and misadventures of the Antebellum South in the 1860s. The latter is a condemnation of slavery and a powerful message about [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight standing up for what you believe in]]. Mark Twain even agreed, preferring ''Huck Finn'' to ''Tom Sawyer''.

* FridgeHorror: The final fates of Harvey and Sophia (nee Grangerford) Shepherdson and Charlotte Grangerford. The Shepherdsons get across the river safely on the day of the massacre, but how their marriage goes when Sophia learns that almost her whole family was murdered by almost ''his'' whole family.... Not to mention Miss Charlotte; the last survivor of her family in an area now overrun by their blood enemies.

* AccidentalInnuendo: "and [Jim] would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was."

** Though it's understandable with the former.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: At one point, Huck and Jim have a conversation that has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the story. (It ends with Jim arguing that French people must not be human because they don't speak English.) This was apparently supposed to be funny to nineteenth-century readers, and some critics have contended that Twain included it as a send-up of the minstrel-show comedy routines popular at the time.
** And yet some critics have argued that there is some [[RuleOfSymbolism hidden symbolism]] in that Huck and Jim's several arguments [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything are actually about slavery]].
** Arguably it is also set up to show that Huck and Jim are [[MirrorCharacter Mirror Characters]], since even with his education, Huck still is unable to counter Jim's logical (for what he is told) points.
** In at least one adaptation, it's made blatantly clear that Jim is playing DevilsAdvocate here to encourage Huck to think more for himself instead of uncritically accepting what other people tell him as fact.

** Arguably it is also set up to show that Huck and Jim are {{Mirror characters}}s, since even with his education, Huck still is unable to counter Jim's logical (for what he is told) points.

** Arguably it is also set up to show that Huck and Jim are NotSoDifferent, since even with his education, Huck still is unable to counter Jim's logical (for what he is told) points.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The novel is undoubtedly a classic, but it's also very well-known for the numerous times it has been banned for its persistent use of the word "nigger". [[InvertedTrope Those who have actually]] [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch read the novel]] know that the slave character, Jim, is [[ObfuscatingStupidity actually the smartest character in the story]], and as demonstrated by Huck's BigDamnHeroes moment to save Jim from capture despite honestly believing he will go to Hell, but that [[YouAreWorthHell Jim is worth Hell]], the novel ultimately condemns racism and slavery.

** Hmmm, a red-headed love interest named Mary Jane who has "a lot of sand?" [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Where have we heard that one before?]]

* IAmNotShazam: At no point in the novel is Huck's companion ever called "[N-word] Jim"--that came from various descriptions and ties-in to the book shortly after its publication.

* GeniusBonus: Prior to the American Civil War, the United States did not have a unified money supply. As such, cash printed in big cities was more easier to pay with. On his journey, Huck has to pay a person in cash for a favor. It is accepted without a hitch because the cash was printed in New Orleans, and New Orleans is described as having some of the most reliable currency available. Not a strong case of ShownTheirWork because Twain knew this tidbit first hand.

* FridgeHorror: The final fates of Harvey and Sophia (nee Grangerford) Shepherdson and Charlotte Grangerford. The Shepherdsons get across the river safely on the day of the massacre, but how their marriage goes when Sophia learns that almost her whole family was murdered by almost ''his'' whole family.... Not to mention Miss Charlotte; the last survivor of her family in an era now overrun by their blood enemies.

* WriterCopOut: Creator/ErnestHemingway thought so, saying that it was a great book but that "if you read it, [[SnicketWarningLabel you must stop where the Nigger Jim is taken from the boys.]] That is the real end. The rest is just cheating."

* IAmNotShazam: At no point in the novel is Huck's companion ever called "Nigger Jim"--that came from various descriptions and ties-in to the book shortly after its publication.