Which 1884 novel by Mark Twain has been banned in many schools for its use of racial slurs?

The 1884 novel by Mark Twain banned in many schools for its use of racial slurs was Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The novel follows Huck Finn and Jim, an enslaved man escaping down the Mississippi River, and is written largely in Huck’s distinctive first-person voice. Twain’s use of dialect and repeated racial epithets reflects the language of the era, but it has also made the book controversial in modern classrooms.

The American edition appeared in 1885, and libraries challenged it almost immediately for coarse language and behavior. Later objections focused more directly on its racial language and stereotypes. Some scholars read the journey as a critique of slavery and racism because Huck gradually rejects the values of the society around him; others argue that the novel still reproduces harmful stereotypes.

The title is often shortened to Huck Finn, but that is not the full title. It is also frequently confused with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, whose character Tom Sawyer appears in Twain’s earlier 1876 novel.