You still can't sivilize him: Huck Finn at the library

"What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?"

NEW HAVEN - Craig Hotchkiss, education program manager for the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, will present Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: An American Story, from 6 to 7 p.m. April 14 at New Haven Public Library, 133 Elm St.
Hotchkiss will examine the history of race relations in America and the role that Mark Twain's book has played over the years, library officials said in release.
Although race is only one of the themes explored in this classic American novel, Huck Finn was controversial almost immediately upon publication in 1884, for its earthy (sometimes offensive) language and depiction of racial stereotypes, the release said.
Slavery had been abolished, but there was a great deal of discussion about the "staus" of freedmen, especially during the Jim Crow era when the book first came out, the release said.
Huck Finn is still one of the most challenged books in the United States, including in New Haven, where it was removed from the 8th grade curriculum in 1995, the release said.
The library presents this discussion to mark National Library Week (April 11-17). There is no charge and free parking is available. For more information, visit www.huckfinn.eventbrite.com or call 203-946-8835.

Editor's note: this information and photo was wholly provided by the New Haven Free Public Library.