Huckleberry Finn to be Published Without the N-Word

Huckleberry Finn, the American classic written by Mark Twain and staple of high school English class everywhere, has always been controversial for its use of the "N-word." (I mean, I even remember my own high school English class debate on the appropriateness of using such word - as I'm sure every class before and after mine had as well)

Now, Twain scholar Alan Gribben plans to do something about it: he's going to replace the word with something less racially offensive.

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic by most any measure—T.S. Eliot called it a masterpiece, and Ernest Hemingway pronounced it the source of "all modern American literature." Yet, for decades, it has been disappearing from grade school curricula across the country, relegated to optional reading lists, or banned outright, appearing again and again on lists of the nation's most challenged books, and all for its repeated use of a single, singularly offensive word: "nigger."

Twain himself defined a "classic" as "a book which people praise and don't read." Rather than see Twain's most important work succumb to that fate, Twain scholar Alan Gribben and NewSouth Books plan to release a version of Huckleberry Finn, in a single volume with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, that does away with the "n" word (as well as the "in" word, "Injun") by replacing it with the word "slave."

"This is not an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colorblind," said Gribben, speaking from his office at Auburn University at Montgomery, where he's spent most of the past 20 years heading the English department. "Race matters in these books. It's a matter of how you express that in the 21st century."

Link

A classic case of cencorship by the politically correct or the appropriately sensitive approach to racial injustice of the past? What do you think?


It seems to me that the intelligent thing to do would be to read it and have a discussion of the word and it's offensiveness.

But as long as both versions are available, it's not really censorship.
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While I don't approve of the "N-word" word, I have an extreme dislike of censorship. Besides, leaving it in opens up an opportunity to discuss the meaning and usage of the word, and that can go a long way in understanding why it's considered offensive and what the word means to different people. The only time that it would be appropriate to remove the "N-word" from Huckleberry Finn is once the word has been removed from our common vocabulary.

Damn, I wish I had kids to discuss this kind of thing with around the dinner table. My parents washed my mouth out with soap the one time I used it, but we never, ever talked about it.
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This is an outrage! One of the very reasons it is a masterpiece is because Twain's style satirizes reality. The use of the "n" word at the time was a reality and contributes to the power of the book.
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Tempest in a teacup.

This same issue has happened almost too many times to count.

Several years ago, an African American "scholar" published his version: "The adventures of Huck Finn, Adapted." I doubt it stayed in print. He "adapted" the book so everyone could read about Huck and Tom's "silly adventures" without getting offended.

This, too shall pass. And Twain will continue to be the most banned American author in the United States.
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Changing the word changes the book.
The word has a definition and a context, and it was used correctly in each instance by Twain, satirizing a society that existed 20 years before the book was published.
It's like we've forgotten that it was offensive even in Twain's time. Do you think he didn't know the baggage it carried when he wrote it?
What has changed since Twain's time is our sensitivity to the word, not the meaning, offensiveness, or use of it. We have the problem. Not the book.
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Saying or writing "N-word" is pretty lame, IMHO.

The reader or listener hears the actual word in their head, so it has a similar effect to saying the actual word. But, at the same time, you're not really saying it, so you get a "free pass" to repeat it several times without getting any flak for it.

Say "nigger" and accept responsibility for the shock and offense that choosing to say it creates, or don't say it at all.
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Great Gods. The whole *POINT* of including the book in a high school program is that very conversation. It's supposed to make students uncomfortable, it's supposed to stimulate debate over historical merit versus modern conventions, over what was acceptable or at least accepted in the past and why it no longer is. If we take the teeth out of this book, sure, it's still a fine story, but it's promoting censorship and teaching kids that it's ok to modify the ideas of others if they make us uncomfortable.

Are we going to take out the "thought crime" sections of 1984 so that we don't get uncomfortable that it's sounding much too similar to what's going on now?
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I found this to be very stupid. Not only is it a classic but a part of American history.

If this is the case, why not add computers and spaceships in the story to make it more relevant to reflect today's social.
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I don't think changing the word completely would be appropriate. If you must censor then changing it to
N-----, would be better. I know what the word is. You known what the word is. But the people who object to it would have to see it.
And the Conversation would remain unchanged.
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Its not a mistake of the past, nor was is considered all that offensive for the time period. We need to keep our history intact. I am not racist, just a supporter of historical preservation.
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Nigger, nigger, nigger.

Also, honkey, yellow, wetback.

These words only have power behind them because people give them the power. The words have no intrinsic evilness or offense. I can say the word "nigger" in front of black friends because it's obvious to them that I have no intent of harm and they give it no power in receiving it. Altering a piece of American historical literature due to a certain word is giving that word way too much power. If we could all shrug and let the word roll off our back, this wouldn't be an issue.

Now, if we could only rid the world of Aussies. (I kid... though a quick search through Wikipedia showed that there were no derogatory terms for someone from Australia (other than Aborigines)).
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I think I might have to beat the ever loving shit out of this man. And then maybe his prejudice on which he stands on to edit the words once written in the past.

When you change the word you don't just 'change the word' unless you change the word to a word that associates a similar meaning. He has, actually redefined the purposes of the negative connotations associated with black people in the book, and changed the definition of the words used for that reason it makes no sense.

You can throw around your fucking useless pity on the racial slurs used PUBLICLY that are AIMED at black people all you want but the fact of the matter is it doesn't insult ANYBODY unless the book (or the slur) objectively depicts a character that is of this real world and calls him or her something wretched along the lines of a 'stinking niggering cunt'.

You may take offence to such 'use of language', but not all people do, and frankly I don't give a crap since the above term does NOT refer to 'all black people', nor does it refer to the context of any black person in existence... As a matter of fact it refers to an imaginary character that I have fathomed for the purposes of the example that is beyond your possible characterisation. Racism itself is merely a form of subjectivism. Political correctness indeed, a proposition that has been overextended for far too long and needs to stop.

Quick grammar lesson kids...

If I call someone a pathetic black man. I associate his skin tone to the fact that he is a man and that he is pathetic. I have not associated the fact that a 'black man' is indeed pathetic, for that specific reason.

Now if I call a man pathetic because he is black, that is the generalisation in effect.

Racism and discrimination are two different things that when become confused produce some sort of imaginary criterion that many people often choose to believe because it feels somehow 'intuitive' to them, never mind if the 'racial slur' lacks any sort of objective connotations that are associated with it.

If anything you have merely removed Mark Twains rights to his own property, using the cruel world that is the consensual umpire (his rights to his own property are reduced by the editor having the ability to edit his work).

Jesus I'm 17 and I can figure this out. You people seriously need to grow up, and if anybody takes offence to anything I have said, I do not apologize, rather it would be a faculty in my own logic and my way of explaining various grammatical concepts to you, in which case I am open to criticism in the form of firm debate.

I will not accept any rhetoric shit. Just because something says an offensive word does not make that word offensive to any particular person by the context that it is used...

Oh and I understand that I tacitly consent to this being edited and all, but if you REALLY don't like what I say then I kindly ask you to delete it (although I do keep record of what was once said whenever I enter into debates on the internet). I wouldn't want anybody to wipe smut over a rational argument, that is open to debate. But frankly I've had enough of these M***** snakes on this M***** plane. ¬_¬
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Another censored N word: I used to work at a kindergarten here, we had to remove all books with the word "naughty" in it. If one got missed out while we were reading had to be replaced with "not very nice"
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The book wasn't written in the 21st Century... too bad you have to make it ultra_PC. What do they call Jim now..... Tan Jim.....Off white Jim.... sigh!
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This is a toughie for me. If my son were to read the book, I'd want it complete and we'd discuss it together. But as a read-aloud, I don't want him hearing the word. There's something different about having him read it coming from a character's mouth, but I don't want him hearing it coming from mine.

Ultimately, I have to side against censorship, but I can understand the motivation. Then again, well-meaning people do all kinds of lousy stuff every day...
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so now we edit the Autobiography of Malcolm X to remove all uses of the forbidden word? and all hip-hop songs that use it? or is it only forbidden when used by a white author?
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Mark Twain made Jim the hero of the story, so I wonder if the "PC-police" actually even read the book. Twain was also an abolitionist, not that it matters, censors don't care. Let's look at some profane rap songs if you want to censor instead of a classic piece of literature with an incredible message. This is so asinine.
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First of all, the word nigger as used by Twain was not a racial reflection, but a reflection of the times and life then extant.
Eliminating that word is violation of American life and literature. Twain wrote the truth, but it seems that NewSouthBooks are not interested in truth in fiction. If the title of that company truly represents the south (and I live there) then it is time for us to move to the north.
It's hard for me to believe that the American people will allow censorship in this day and age.
I denigrated Germany's censorship and Italy's, when I was old enough. I learned, in school, of the evils of any kind of censorship and to what it can lead.
In order to be free, America must fight any and all censorship. Otherwise, friends, we are simply slaves of those people who are in power. History shows us that any past nation that allowed censorship sooner, not later, became a dictatorship and eventually became a nation that could not and would not protect its own citizens.
Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, again and again.
Those who stand for censorship are negating Abraham Lincoln's remark about our being a nation of freedom.
Beware of those who want thought police.
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Why cheat young readers out of the opportunity to learn to understand things in a broader context? The protagonist who uses the word is a boy to whom it is obvious that helping a fugitive slave gain his freedom is a its the protagonist can by any stretch of the imagination be considered racist. Leave the book alone.
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Glad to see most people think that the N-word should stay to provoke discussion. I doubt this new edition will sell much except to a few schools that have been censoring their reading lists. I taught at a district in Northern Ohio that wouldn't use a text that gave an example of a "spell" for an exercise and banned over 100 classic pieces of literature from its library that were MUCH tamer than this. Very sad, really. Let's not let Big Brother win!
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Bravo everyone! For all of my scorn at this weak kneed pandering to political correctness I can't think of a single thing to add to this discussion except to say let's take the fight to New South's comment section and let THEM know how we all feel.
http://www.newsouthbooks.com/pages/2011/01/04/a-word-about-the-newsouth-edition-of-mark-twains-tom-sawyer-and-huckleberry-finn/comment-page-1/#comment-74673
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I have to question why white ppl are all up in arms about this, yet none will type out the words in their posts, headlines ect. I think there are underlying reasons as to why they think that history is suddenly being 'rewritten' in the removal of the n word. The books' setting was in a time of oppression for blacks and other people of color and whites were revered as the heroes and examples of moral compass as much of the movies and media portray them today and everyone else of color is in some way inferior. However it is not read in the context today as the satire that it is concerning white supremacy.

The book has its racist implements without the word and there are just some sick people out there who don't care so much for the fact that a classic is edited and it is an offensive word as they do as just seeing the word in print and being able to read/see it without being deemed a racist.

As a black person growing up in the south it doesn't sit too well to have heard this word read a loud. if any of you rejecting the censored version would stop and think about why someone would take the time to entertain the thought of editing this, maybe you'd be willing to see the other side of the argument and make up your own minds rather than going off of what the news is telling you.

Flip on MSNBC visit huffington post(if you can do so without puking) People seem to be more up in arms about ppl using the word 'fag' to describe a homosexual person..and will go as far to make stupid PSAs against it..but when it comes to removing a derogatory and offensive word towards blacks...history is being 're-written' things that make you go hmm...

Mark Twain's use of the N word in HUCK FINN is a negative recognition of overt racism not an acceptance of it. If you racists like seeing the 'n' word just buy the original.
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AMAZING. AMAZING. AMAZING. I thought I was alone in all this.
Fantastic comments. ArmouredGRIFFON and JP, you guys should yell your thoughts from mountain-tops.
Thanks for this.
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I think this is long overdue. Next, there's quite a bit of misogyny in Shakespeare's works that I would like to see cleared up. And then there's that Bible, and the Koran, and I saw a bunch of stuff in the Constitution that I don't care for as well...
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The book itself IS history (as most are). As one commenter mentioned: it is revisionist history at work.
I have to agree with all of the intelligent comments prior.
I think if hearing or reading the word nigger makes you cringe, that is probably a good thing! We can't bleach out all of the bad things in the world. Reading about the holocaust makes me incredibly uncomfortable...ensuring that similar atrocities won't happen again. By reading/hearing, then cringing when we see offensive words, we can learn from that!
Lastly, to Krystalx, how do you know the races of the people who are up in arms about this? As commenter Catherine implies, editing one book to remove offensive things will only create the snowball effect. And yes, it will just ensure that I read only the originals and not someones edited version of the past.
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The only plus side I see of this is that more kids will be reading this classic.

That being said, I agree with other comments here. Leaving the word in the book will give rise to discussions on its meaning and why it is no longer used. Then understanding and acceptance will begin. Editing, censoring, or banning the word only leads to people seeking it even more. This can be evidenced with any item or thing that was changed, censored, or banned.

If read aloud, it would be uncomfortable for some (including myself) to actually say the word. An alternate could be used that wouldn't change the meaning. Negro would be one such word. This again could be discussed by the class as to why the word is no longer used.
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Helgar, your suggestion is actually the most reasonable. I've heard the word "nigger" used in its derogatory sense, but mostly I see it being used by black people in pretty much the same way gay people use the word "queer", but way more often.

I'm not in favour of removing the word, but softening it to "Negro" (plus a footnote at its first use) would have close to the same impact, if taught correctly.

Book of all languages have always been altered for use in schools. I think Twain's portrayal of the man shows more dignity to black people than the name given him - considering the era and location it was written.

For a society that tries to avoid labels, it's ironic that we can't see the value in a book showing a man who rises above his label.
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Negro is a good idea because it derives the same essential connotations that you associate with the original term, without altering the meaning of the book.

The fact that it is a 'better word' to use than Nigger is merely the product of cultural subjectivism, how we associate the 'harshness' with the terms and uses of language.
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If we replace or eliminate word that may offend will we next do the same with books and free speech? What is next burning books and people that have ideas that we do not like? How can we sanitize life by making it not worth living? Some times we may be offended but that is life no one likes everything live with it and move on, this is one more load of crap being forced on the people.
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I don't understand why people can't differentiate between words used in a derogatory sense and those used in a factual manner. Does saying "nigger" make me racist? Only if I'm using it to degrade a black person. I see people saying innocuous words like 'fudge' in place of 'fuck' but if you're just replacing the 'bad' word but saying the 'nice' word with the same malice and intent, how is it any better?

It's just a word folks.
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I was talking to my dad about the same thing while watching Storm of the Century. They bleeped out the actors saying "ass" but allowed them to say "bastard"......if you're going to remove a supposedly bad word, then remove all of the bad words. As for the use of nigger (nigga for those who don't want to say it correctly), its all in how its used. Just like any word, how you use it can indicate a good or bad. Example: "Let's string us up some niggers!" (going to go and kill a bunch of black ppl); "That's my nigga right there; we's all tight and shit!" (that black guy over there is my best friend)

What I'm curious about is what they're going to replace 'injun' with.
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"Are there any niggers here tonight?"

That was the question Lenny Bruce asked a shocked audience one night in 1960. His point - right or wrong - was that "the suppression of the word gives it the power of violence and viciousness." I was thinking about Lenny this morning when I read on the website AlterNet that someone took it upon themselves to remove the "N" word from a new edition of Huckleberry Finn and replaced it with the word "slave".

We cannot start pretending that THAT WORD never existed. It is not only futile, it's kind of silly, don'cha think? Are we expected to burn all copies of Dick Gregory's excellent 1964 autobiography which was called (by the way) "Nigger"? Gregory knew damned well the literary sledgehammer effect of the "N" word. It's a horrible word, no doubt about it. But it's a damned powerful word, too. There are certain places in American literature where not only does it work, it's essential - in Huckleberry Finn for instance. Old Huck was an illiterate, ignorant kid. That's how illiterate, ignorant kids talked in those days. In fact, that's how some of them talk still. To pretend he had the vocabulary of David Copperfield doesn't make any sense.

And, please, let's not forget that Mark Twain is not some re-visioned, nasty old southern bigot. Next to Frederick Douglas, he was the most enlightened human being of his age on the subject of race - and I would include Abraham Lincoln in that assessment.

It's a word; a terrible word, yes, but it's only a word.

http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Tom Degan
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Moreover, the only effect produced by this censorship will be the increased popularity of the n-word and the situation in the class while talking about Mark Twain will be the same.
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They should publish versions in king james english, ebonics, middle english, klingon, and yiddish. Then the students could pick the version they want to read and schools could pick the versions they want to ban. Something for everyone.
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