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Let’s not mince words. There’s some vocabulary in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that will leave you feeling more than a little uncomfortable. The good news is, context helps. And lucky for you, that’s what this Recap is all about!

Video Transcription:

Is your skin crawling? Do you have an upset stomach? Discomfort? Are you feeling the urge to wince?

Mmm-hmmm. Just as I suspected.

I have some good news, and I have some bad news.

The bad news is that you have Huck Finn disease.

The good news is that there is a cure: Take three doses of context and call me in the morning.

Here’s your first dose. Even though Huck Finn was written after the Civil War, in many parts of the country, black people were still second-class citizens. So the language you’re encountering in the novel wouldn’t have been all that shocking to Twain’s original readers. It probably upset an enlightened few. But it was pretty much accepted terminology for that time period.

Feeling a little better? OK, here’s your second dose: Twain was a satirist. Which means that his work was all about commenting on the society of his time—usually through techniques like exaggeration and sarcasm. His portrayal of racism and hypocrisy might seem extreme—but that’s the point.

Last dose. Huck Finn can also be a tough read because it challenges you to think about tough moral issues—and to make your own decisions about them.

My recommendation? Don’t resist. Turns out thinking for yourself is actually the best medicine.