MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Mark Twain wrote that "the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." A new edition of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will try to find out if that holds true by replacing the N-word with "slave" in an effort not to offend readers. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40917583/ns/today-books/ God, this pisses me off. If people can't understand and teachers can't teach the context in which a book was written, then they should just not use it in their teaching. ************ Jim is an incredibly vibrant and important character in the history of American literature. In addition, they changed "Injun' Joe" to "Indian Joe" and "half breed" to "half blood." 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." Indeed Sir.
Where is he buried? If we could attach magnets to his body, the power generated by its spinning could power a nearby city.
When I posted this, I had not watched the video that appears in the link. Watch it for two reasons: 1. It's an interview with Melissa Harris-Perry. She always gives a tremendously interesting view on any issues of race. Here, she talks about how the replacement word "slave" has its own issues, particularly in the context of the relationship that Twain created between Huck Finn and ************ Jim. (I'm going to keep typing the correct name, BS censor be damned!) She pretty much nails everything I wanted to say on this. 2. It's kind of hilarious because at the end of the interview, Olbermann, in his usual pompous tone, says, "it's been 29 days since the agreement to extend tax breaks for the rich. Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs?" the night before very good jobs news breaks. I'm not giving republican any jobs credit, but its always funny to see something blow back in the face of Olbermann.
By the way of personal anecdote, I read Huck Finn as an assignment at my Catholic High School. The word "************" had long since been denounced, although was still in use in my little corner of Kansas. My Basic Lit teacher did an excellent job of dealing with the time period, the language and the relationship between the characters. For me, the book was a major revelation on racial issues, and yes, on the word "************." I guess that is why this pisses me off so much.
All this time I thought that was a Jimmy Buffet line...... edit And I agree with you that this is BS.
Censoring the work isn't cool, but there are places in the country where the context is not dealt with as a negative. "Can't" teach the context was never the issue in my HS AP English class- it was that the teacher didn't want (and didn't have) to deal with the context. She went out of her way to select literature that contained slurs and illustrated divisive actions without any judgement on the part of the authors, and not once did she use anything from the standpoint of slaves or former slaves or the segregated population. It was almost as tho she put it out there specifically to point out to us that "there is a difference between you and the three black students in this class. Look at them when you see this word. They are ************ Jim". The teacher in question has her Belle credentials all lined up, if you get my drift. I'm sure she isn't alone in that regard. A teacher or a school with free reign not only to select certain Southern material but to ignore certain other the (equally) Southern material that accurately portrays the horror of the slave trade and Jim Crow might be a factor here. I'm not at all convinced that HS students can properly judge the era on their own, particularly when parents with Confedeate sympathies are involved.
They could have used "n-word" for the n-word, as here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?EAN=9789076660110&x=
I read a comic book some time back where the word "************" was substituted with "noogie". It started off with an intro where the characters broke the fourth wall to let everyone know that they weren't allowed to use the "f-word" or the "s-word" at all, and for some other words, nobody gave a crap how many damn assloads they used, but when it came to the n-word, the lawyers got a little skittish and wouldn't let them use it. The author of that comic was black, as was one of the main characters -- Quantum and Woody by Christopher Priest, if anyone was following Acclaim comics about a decade ago.
Maybe I led a sheltered life, but my kids are far more exposed to the N-word today than I was growing up. This censorship is ridiculous.
This ranks right up there with our Governor here in Virginia wanting to cover up the naked boobie on our flag.
I recall how in the immediate aftermath of the Dutroux case, a statue of a naked ballerina near my home had been put on a sweater.
It's comedy gold on Twitter though. My favorite so far: Snooki writes a book yet Huck Finn is being censored: literature is officially dead.
For a country that thrives on its exceptionalism and toughness, we sure are a bunch of ************** when people use bad words to make a point.