"The Great American Novel"

In "Say It Ain't So, Huck," Smiley tries to argue that Huck Finn is a horrible choice for a book to call "The Great American Novel," and contends that it is because Huck Finn was considered, as Ernest Hemingway put it, the "one book" from which "[a]ll modern American literature comes from" that what we now-a-days consider typical "American Literature" as actually severely flawed and not at all exemplary of true American values. Smiley seems to think that Uncle Tom's Cabin would be a far better choice for a great American novel.
However, I would say that this is a misguided statement. In this argument, Smiley makes the same mistake she makes throughout her entire essay: she tries to narrow the entire topic down to the singular issue of slavery. While Smiley is correct in saying that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a far more resounding argument against slavery, the flaw in her logic arises when she implies that the issue of slavery is the only significant aspect of true "American literature". But the truth is that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a far more American novel because it deals with the larger, more permanent issues of a flawed civilization and an escape into nature. While the slavery was certainly a big issue during the time of both Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this was not a fundamental part of American values. The whole reason we don't read Uncle Tom's Cabin in high schools is that slavery is no longer a huge issue in America - we all know slavery is wrong. However, the issues dealt with in Huck Finn - fighting conformity, questioning the morality of "civilized" society - are still very prevalent on America today and are thus important to think about.
This is the biggest difference between Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in terms of being a perfect example of the American novel. Uncle Tom's Cabin deals with a single, temporary issue, while Huck Finn deals with many issues that remain important to this day.