SOURCE: Smiley, Jane. “Say It Ain't So, Huck: Second Thoughts on Mark Twain's ‘Masterpiece’.” Harper's 292, no. 1748 (January 1996): 61-7.

In the following essay, Smiley casts doubt on whether the reputation of Huckleberry Finn is deserved, comparing its cultural message unfavorably with that of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

So I broke my leg. Doesn't matter how—since the accident I've heard plenty of broken-leg tales, and, I'm telling you, I didn't realize that walking down the stairs, walking down hills, dancing in high heels, or stamping your foot on the brake pedal could be so dangerous. At any rate, like numerous broken-legged intellectuals before me, I found the prospect of three months in bed in the dining room rather seductive from a book-reading point of view, and I eagerly got started. Great novels piled up on my table, and right at the top was The Adventures of Huckleberry...