New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the 'n' word

[The_Iceflash]

<center>New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the 'n' word

(EW.com) -- 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.

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We've had discussions on Political Correctness and Censorship of Books, Movies, etc regarding language and stereotypes that have since fell out of fashion. What do you all think of the changes being made to this new edition? How does this affect where you stand on political correctness and censorship if at all?

[Flanger-Hanger]

It's too much "PC" for me. Can't people accept that some things written in the past were actually like that and learn how far society has come since then?

[pinkrenata]

I'm not crazy about the idea, but if that's what gets the book unbanned at schools, I can live with it.

[avonleastories95]

First Song of the South banned, now this? I can't wait to see what the PC has in store for us next time . I do agree with Flanger-Hanger, it has gone far enough!

[pinkrenata]

First Song of the South banned, now this? I can't wait to see what the PC has in store for us next time . I do agree with Flanger-Hanger, it has gone far enough!

Well, <i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> has been banned on and off for years, depending upon the school district and region. I read it for a high school English class, so I never personally dealt with it being banned. I'm guessing this new censored version, though, will make it more widely available in schools.

[Elladorine]

One of my junior high classrooms had a highly censored version that changed most of the dialog, which was right next to the original version. It was really weird to compare the two. The original was 8th grade required reading for us, and even our teacher didn't know why we had some censored versions in her classroom.

And yes, it's one of the most challenged books when it comes to being banned from schools and libraries. Here's a list of the top most challenged books, I kinda see it as a "must read" list.

[Lazario]

Schools are uptight freaks, that's all I have to say about why the book might have been banned in the first place. I wouldn't blame the PC as much - I would say if anything it's conservatism. You had better believe that the VAST majority of complaints about books used to be sexual content and themes that religious people objected to. They started it and set the precedent.

A Disney film is one thing, that company has always considered themselves a distributor of "Family" entertainment and feel they have a duty to that legacy not to release offensive and objectionable content (or else they wouldn't have decided to edit Melody Time, Make Mine Music, etc). Everything they do goes through a strict filtering system and there's nothing anyone can do about that. But a book is not written to affirm any social norms or please ideas of morality, correctness, etc.

I say- think about what the writer would feel / want. This seems PROFOUNDLY wrong to me. In a way, it's a violation of freedom of speech. Since this writer isn't alive to respond.

[Goliath]

Here's a list of the top most challenged books, I kinda see it as a "must read" list.

"Not found"

It's too much "PC" for me. Can't people accept that some things written in the past were actually like that and learn how far society has come since then?

I agree, but this doesn't only go for works that have been made a long time ago. Sometimes the "n-word" (or other racist, anti-semitic or mysogynist words) are used in a movie to tell the viewer something about what kind of character we're dealing with. What if we would edit them all out? The meaning would go missing. And it would deprive us of some very funny dialogue, like this part in Pulp Fiction:

Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said "Dead Nigger Storage"?
Jules: [pause] No. I didn't.
Jimmie: You know WHY you didn't see that sign?
Jules: Why?
Jimmie: 'Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing dead niggers ain't my fucking business, that's why!

[The_Iceflash]

Schools are uptight freaks, that's all I have to say about why the book might have been banned in the first place. I wouldn't blame the PC as much - I would say if anything it's conservatism. You had better believe that the VAST majority of complaints about books used to be sexual content and themes that religious people objected to. They started it and set the precedent.

A Disney film is one thing, that company has always considered themselves a distributor of "Family" entertainment and feel they have a duty to that legacy not to release offensive and objectionable content (or else they wouldn't have decided to edit Melody Time, Make Mine Music, etc). Everything they do goes through a strict filtering system and there's nothing anyone can do about that. But a book is not written to affirm any social norms or please ideas of morality, correctness, etc.

I say- think about what the writer would feel / want. This seems PROFOUNDLY wrong to me. In a way, it's a violation of freedom of speech. Since this writer isn't alive to respond.

I agree. I can't imagine any author wanting this done to their work. I think it certainly infringes on his first amendment rights.

[Cordy_Biddle]

This doesn't surprise me. Going back with an eraser won't change the past.

[Elladorine]

Here's a list of the top most challenged books, I kinda see it as a "must read" list.

"Not found"

Happy reading.

Nineteen Eighty-four (1984), George Orwell
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, Dav Pilkey
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
Alice series, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren
Always Running, Luis J. Rodriguez
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser
The Anarchist Cookbook, William Powell
Anastasia Again!, Lois Lowry
And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
Annie on My Mind, Nancy Garden
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Judy Blume
Arming America, Michael Bellasiles
Arizona Kid, Ron Koertge
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
Asking About Sex and Growing Up, Joanna Cole
Athletic Shorts, Chris Crutcher
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Black Boy, Richard Wright
Bless Me, Ultima Rudolfo, A. Anaya
Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause
Blubber, Judy Blume
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
The Boy Who Lost His Face, Louis Sachar
Boys and Sex, Wardell Pomeroy
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
Bumps in the Night, Harry Allard
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
Captain Underpants, Dav Pilkey
Carrie, Stephen King
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
Christine, Stephen King
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Crazy Lady!, Jane Conly
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat, Alvin Schwartz
Cujo, Stephen King
Curses, Hexes and Spells, Daniel Cohen
Cut, Patricia McCormick
Daddy's Roommate, Michael Willhoite
A Day No Pigs Would Die, Robert Newton Peck
The Dead Zone, Stephen King
Deenie, Judy Blume
Detour for Emmy, Marilyn Reynolds
The Drowning of Stephan Jones, Bette Greene
Earth's Children (series), Jean M. Auel
The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty
The Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney
Fade, Robert Cormier
Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers
Family Secrets, Norma Klein
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
Final Exit, Derek Humphry
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
Forever, Judy Blume
Girls and Sex, Wardell Pomeroy
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous
Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin
The Goats, Brock Cole
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Goosebumps (series), R. L. Stine
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
Guess What?, Mem Fox
Halloween ABC, Eve Merriam
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter (series), J. K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Heather Has Two Mommies, Lesléa Newman
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
In the Night Kitchen, Maurice Sendak
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
It's Perfectly Normal, Robie Harris
It's So Amazing, Robie Harris
Jack, A. M. Homes
James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
Jay's Journal, Anonymous
Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George
Jump Ship to Freedom, James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Jumper, Steven Gould
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane
Killing Mr. Griffin, Lois Duncan
Lady Chatterley's Lover, D. H. Lawrence
A Light in the Attic, Shel Silverstein
Little Black Sambo, Helen Bannerman
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Mommy Laid An Egg, Babette Cole
My Brother Sam Is Dead, James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
Native Son, Richard Wright
The New Joy of Gay Sex, Charles Silverstein and Felice Picano
Of Mice and Men John, Steinbeck
On My Honor, Marion Dane Bauer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
Ordinary People, Judith Guest
The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
The Pigman, Paul Zindel
Private Parts, Howard Stern
Rabbit, Run, John Updike
The Rabbit's Wedding, Garth Williams
Rainbow Boys, Alex Sanchez
Running Loose, Chris Crutcher
The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
Scary Stories (series), Alvin Schwartz
A Separate Peace, John Knowles
Sex, Madonna
Sex Education, Jenny Davis
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
The Sledding Hill , Chris Crutcher
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Song of Solomon (novel), Toni Morrison
Sons and Lovers , D. H. Lawrence Rad
The Stupids (series), Harry Allard
Summer of My German Soldier, Bette Greene
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
That Was Then, This Is Now , S. E. Hinton
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
Tiger Eyes, Judy Blume
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Tropic of Cancer , Henry Miller
Ulysses, James Joyce Rad
View from the Cherry Tree, Willo Davis Roberts
We All Fall Down , Robert Cormier
Whale Talk , Chris Crutcher
What My Mother Doesn't Know, Sonya Sones
What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons, Lynda Madaras
What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters, Lynda Madaras
Where Did I Come From?, Peter Mayle
The Wish Giver, Bill Brittain
The Witches, Roald Dahl
Women in Love, D. H. Lawrence
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies, Nancy Friday
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle

* * *

I'm really surpised at some of the books listed, many of which I got from the school library as a kid in the 80's with no issue. Somehow I doubt reading books like Deenie ended up scarring me for life.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Nineteen Eighty-four (1984), George Orwell
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
Goosebumps (series), R. L. Stine
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Harry Potter (series), J. K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton
A Separate Peace, John Knowles
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wow, I can't believe how many of those books I've read (which are those ^). I really don't see why a lot of those books would be banned. Especially A Wrinkle in Time; but that's probably because it's my favorite book. I don't see the point in censorship. 1984 displays that. Oh, wait, that's a banned book. No wonder they don't understand

[Goliath]

I don't see the point in censorship. 1984 displays that. Oh, wait, that's a banned book. No wonder they don't understand

It's ironic, since the distopian society described 1984 was modelled after the Soviet Union, so you'd think American schools would encourage reading this classic. But then again, since the days of George W. Bush, the book is often cited as a warning against the way the United States is now being run and how it operates (including Michael Moore citing it in his book 'Dude, Where's My Country?' and his film Fahrenheit 9/11).

I think I know why those books you listed are considered 'controversial' (a word I hate with passion). One way or another, they all deal with criticizing the status quo; standing up to authority; questioning the madness of war; challenging old habits; in short: critical thinking. And if there's one thing the authorities don't want in their schools, it's critical thinking.

[jpanimation]

I agree, but this doesn't only go for works that have been made a long time ago. Sometimes the "n-word" (or other racist, anti-semitic or mysogynist words) are used in a movie to tell the viewer something about what kind of character we're dealing with. What if we would edit them all out? The meaning would go missing. And it would deprive us of some very funny dialogue, like this part in Pulp Fiction:

Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said "Dead Nigger Storage"?
Jules: [pause] No. I didn't.
Jimmie: You know WHY you didn't see that sign?
Jules: Why?
Jimmie: 'Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing dead niggers ain't my fucking business, that's why!

Not only do I love that scene but your point is perfectly realized with it. Huck Finn is an uneducated child who lives in the south during a different era. He's not supposed to sound like George Sanders, that is not who he is and that's not who the dialogue was written for.

[Disney's Divinity]

This kind of misses the entire point of literature in schools. Students are supposed to be able to look back and critically analyze different times/people. From a modern perspective, they’re supposed to see how ignorant and deplorable the conditions were for African Americans. Isn’t that what the whole book was about anyway, what with Huck learning that slavery’s wrong?

[pinkrenata]

This kind of misses the entire point of literature in schools. Students are supposed to be able to look back and critically analyze different times/people.

I think it's typically parents, not schools, who are responsible for banning books.

[Wonderlicious]

Some of the reasons for books being banned are stupid. A version of Little Red Riding Hood was banned somewhere in California since Red had some wine in her basket, and Anne Frank's diary was called to be banned in Alabama because people found it depressing. Not that it's a problem in just the US; I also heard that a local council in the UK suggesting changing "Three Little Pigs" into "Three Little Puppies" for young children, so as not to offend Muslims, which drew criticism from both Muslims and non-Muslims. I think that people should have more common sense in what they choose to read, but then again, some people lack said thing.

I personally have never read Huckleberry Finn; coming from the UK, we had to read lots by Dickens, Shakespeare and other British authors, leaving less time to look at many American authors. However, from what I understand, the book is an awakening about racial attitudes, and the book is written in a colloquial manner reflecting the vernacular of the region during the time period. If it were up to me, I'd keep the dreaded N word, but probably put in a foreword explaining that the book was written at the turn of the 20th century, when segregation was in place across many states, and society on the whole had far different racial attitudes to today. Literature has to be read in context to be understood, and the departments for education should be understanding of that, regardless of any pressure from anyone. Anne Frank's diary will seem depressing as she was confined to a small room so that the Nazis wouldn't get her, and one can't simply call racism sickening without addressing it and how it infested/infests our culture with an example like Mark Twain's book.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I think that people should have more common sense in what they choose to read, but then again, some people lack said thing.

Common sense was never common.

[Elladorine]

This kind of misses the entire point of literature in schools. Students are supposed to be able to look back and critically analyze different times/people.

I think it's typically parents, not schools, who are responsible for banning books.

Yes. And all it takes is one or two parents (or just sometimes fear of parents' reactions alone!) to get books banned in an entire district and beyond, as they enthusiasticly jump on the ban bandwagon and schools bow down out of pressure and fear.

"But in 1980, the censors crawled out of the woodwork, seemingly overnight, organized and determined. Not only would they decide what their children could read, but what all children could read. Challenges to books quadrupled within months, and we'll never know how many teachers, school librarians and principals quietly removed books to avoid trouble." ~Judy Blume Talks About Censorship

"And now the gate is open so wide that some parents believe they have the right to demand immediate removal of any book for any reason from school or classroom libraries. The list of gifted teachers and librarians who find their jobs in jeopardy for defending their students’ right to read, to imagine, to question, grows every year." ~Is Harry Potter Evil?

[avonleastories95]

This kind of misses the entire point of literature in schools. Students are supposed to be able to look back and critically analyze different times/people.

I think it's typically parents, not schools, who are responsible for banning books.

I agree with this post so much, that I will give it 5 pink ellys.