Political & Elections

BigG · Guru

New Edition of "Huckleberry Finn" to Lose the "N" Word

Woodwork · Senior Member

In fact, the key for high school students will be whether the entrepreneurs over at Cliff Notes retain the "N" word...

I'm of a mixed mind about the whole thing in any case. I wouldn't want to force a Jewish student to have to read a word like "kike," or an Arab "Sand N-word" either. I can, if necessary, view the editing as an abridgement.

What is interesting to me is to see the MSM jumping all over this as a cultural cause celeb...the same crowd that wanted to preserve the Christ on the cross covered with ants travesty at the Smithsonian and MOMA and of course the crucifix in piss-jar, but are troubled by a Christmas Tree or the 10 commandments in a public place; the latter being too profane for even these eccentric free-speech zealots to bear.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

From an article in today's "Daily News":

"Yet Twain was particular about his words. His letter in 1888 about the right word and the almost right one was "the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."

Yep. Big difference, alright.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

I have served on many book adoption committees and it's always difficult to decide to toss a book or add one to the list. Everyone has different opinions.

I remember one heated debate with a school admin over "Whale Talk". Not sure if I ever mentioned that on the other board.

It's a young adult book that has a great message about a jock kid who brings together a group of school outcasts as a swim team, but yeah, there is some frank talk of a sexual nature, the way many boys in that age range might talk about sex. Shocking, huh?

There is also a tragic accident in the past with a child. There is some situations where some members of the group were ostracized/teased and were outcasts.

This book raised the ire of the principal of that school and she didn't want it taught in the classroom, even though the teachers and everyone else on the committee wanted this book. Why? Because of the sex and profanity. Such a small thing, compared to the main point of the book.

In the end, we got the book on the list, the kids enjoy reading it - it's not dull, appeals to them and who they are at that stage of their life and has an inspirational message about redemption and doing the right thing. It's still on my list of favorite teen reading books.

Artemis · Senior Member

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, sls. I was hoping you'd weigh in on the article. I didn't read Huck Finn until high school, and I believe one of the things the book taught me was the common place manner such words were used and accepted during that time in history.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

"Huck Finn" was a great book. My daughter is actually reading it right now for her English class.

I have spent a load of time in libraries and have dealt with well-meaning people wanting to censor books.

If a class of students is old enough to process the meaning and historical context of "Huck Finn" or any other historical or modern literature book, I would prefer that it be kept in the original voice of the author.

Twain was a smart guy. He wrote those books understanding the full importance of the language and chose every word carefully. Putting replacement words, even if they are similar isn't enough. It changes the meaning of the book. Frankly, I think it degrades the intention of teaching the book.

If you really want to know, if I were teaching this book, I would rather not teach the book than a modified, sanitized version. Cleaning it up like chopping a movie has an impact which often changes the focus or direction of the writer/director. Cutting out the gore in "Scarface" may make it easier viewing at 8 pm, but taking it out takes out a primary message of that movie or others. Sometimes you need to see and hear the visceral effects of the story.

Using the "n" word was not only commonplace, but also had connotations that were meaningful in context of this era.

I believe that by teaching history through facts and literature and historical documents - warts and all - has more significance than providing the PG version.

Artemis · Senior Member

(Article)

New Edition of "Huckleberry Finn" to Lose the "N" Word

by Keith Staskiewicz

What is a word worth? According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remove all instances of the “n” word—I’ll give you a hint, it’s not nonesuch—present in the text and replace it with slave. The new book will also remove usage of the word Injun. The effort is spearheaded by Twain expert Alan Gribben, who says his PC-ified version is not an attempt to neuter the classic but rather to update it. “Race matters in these books,” Gribben told PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.”

Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling “Censorship!” as well as others with thesauruses yelling “Bowdlerization!” and “Comstockery!” Their position is understandable: Twain’s book has been one of the most often misunderstood novels of all time, continuously being accused of perpetuating the prejudiced attitudes it is criticizing, and it’s a little disheartening to see a cave-in to those who would ban a book simply because it requires context. On the other hand, if this puts the book into the hands of kids who would not otherwise be allowed to read it due to forces beyond their control (overprotective parents and the school boards they frighten), then maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. It’s unfortunate, but is it really any more catastrophic than a TBS-friendly re-edit of The Godfather, you down-and-dirty melon farmer? The original product is changed for the benefit of those who, for one reason or another, are not mature enough to handle it, but as long as it doesn’t affect the original, is there a problem?

What do you think, Shelf-Lifers? Unnecessary censorship or necessary evil?

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*From comments*

Mon 01/03/11 7:19 PM

Chris
Mon 01/03/11 7:15 PM

I happen to know the editor of this edition. He’s a world-renowned Twain scholar (search his name on Google books and see how many hits you get). He loves Twain and has devoted his academic life to the study of Twain. He does not favor censorship of Twain. This project resulted from visiting many small towns in Alabama, on a recent speaking tour, and being told by teacher after teacher after teacher that these teachers loved Twain but could not teach Twain because the book was considered so painful by so many readers — simply because of one word. Like it or not, that is the situation in many schools today. Of course, anyone who knows the book well will know that it condemns slavery and that Jim, in many ways, is the real hero of the novel. Gribben’s edition is merely an effort to make sure that more people have the chance to read the novel. Once they read it, many of them will get “hooked” and will want to read the real thing. The edition will have a lengthy preface explaining the nature of the edition and how the edition came to be. No one will ever be able to mistake it for the “original” edition. Ironically, anyone who reads Gribben’s edition will know that the word “slave” is replacing the “n” word, and so the irony and impact of the book will not be entirely lost — not at all. The book will stimulate more discussion and study of Twain, which is always a good thing. I urge anyone who is troubled by censorship (as all intelligent people should be) to wait until the edition appears before passing judgment on it. By the way, the edition pictured by EW is NOT Gribben’s edition, which will make its intentions quite clear and explicit. Gribben is a good man who loves Twain and wants more people to have the chance to fall in love with Twain themselves.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/?hpt=T2