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.”
Well, except Twain wasn’t expressing it in the 21st century. He was expressing it in the 19th century.
Just because we read a book now — in its current context — doesn’t mean we get to change the context in which the book was written, or ignore that the book’s author used particular words at a particular historical moment to mean a particular thing. Let’s save that particular bit of incoherence for the Living Constitution.
The fact is, the very aspect of literature that teaches us a bit about the evolution of language and expression — it’s prior permanence as an intended text — is one of the things we should be highlighting in our study. And yet, because we now have followed the leftist tack of politicizing speech (and then making it politically “correct” as a way to stave off its offensiveness), we can airbrush individual meaning out of the historical record, usurp that meaning as belonging to us, and make the corrections to it we deem necessary.
Or, to put it another way, the individual will is folded into the collective and corrected for us.
But hey. Reasonable people, and all.
(h/t Jer; via Volokh)
****
related? (h/t JHo)
And then there is the whole dealo that “nigger Jim” is just about the only honorable person in the whole book.
I wonder if that means anything?
Hush, Carin. What’s important isn’t the quality of the man’s character, it’s the label that others applied to him. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will scar me for life and get you carted away for felony bullying!
I don’t get how you need a bona fide “Twain scholar” to be in charge of search-and-replace any piece of shit can do that it wasn’t necessary for this Alan Gribben douchebag to be the arrogant tard who edited Mr. Twain. He probably didn’t think this through very well.
Also I haven’t seen what he search-and-replaced Injun with. I bet it’s something funny.
I hear that new Twain autobiography is really good.
Perhaps we should all buy it in protest?
Also I haven’t seen what he search-and-replaced Injun with. I
Native-American Joe has a certain ring to it, don’t you think? Rolls off of Huck Finn’s tongue, I’m sure.
They are replacing “nigger” with the word “slave.”
But, of course.
What a bunch of
faggotspussiescowards.“The n-word possessed, then as now, demeaning implications more vile than almost any insult that can be applied to other racial groups,” he said.
when was the last time there wasn’t at least ONE song in the top ten w/o the word “nigga” in it?
Black and Yellow, by Wiz Khalifa, #7 on iTunes.
Uh, black stripe, yellow paint
the n-ggas scared of it but them hoes aint
soon as I hit the club look at them hoes face
put the pedal once make the floor shake
suede inside, engine roaring
First song on the top 10 I tried.
hi First Peoples Joe me and Slave are thinking about getting out of town for awhile you wanna come wif?
#8 – Lil Wayne. 6 foot 7
you know father time, we all know mother nature
it’s all in the family, but I am of no relation
no matter who’s buying, I’m a celebration
black and white diamonds, f-ck segregation
f-ck that shit, my money up, you n-ggas just Honey Nut
Young Money running shit and you n-ggas just runner-ups
I don’t feel I done enough, so I’ma keep on doing this shit
the song gets worse.
First peoples – didn’t think of that.
That’s good.
Maybe someone should warn Patti Smith to watch out.
It is no surprise that you reichwingnutz are in favor of using the n-word wherever and whenever you want. Cling to your bitter southern colonial slave master thoughts, you fucking hilljack hicktards.
Twain once had a famous quote about precision in language, no? Something about lightning and lightning bugs.
will Disney have to rename their cave?
here’s a picture oh my goodness can you imagine if you were a young first people’s child encountering this sign at Disney you would be pitched headlong into a confusing and hostile world of prejudice and probably self-loathing
Some people just deserve to be slapped. Gribben, Caric-ature, and Yelverton are always at the front of the line.
young *first peoples* child is how you say that I guess
This it JD?
The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
– Letter to George Bainton, 10/15/1888
Ys, RTO. That is it. Thank you.
So when do we start editing To Kill a Mockingbird? Will they have to do a Turner type job on the films already made?
Wife got it for me for Christmas.
She didn’t even black out the evil parts!
I’m surprised its not being replaced by “African-American”.
Lets change Gone with the Wind so none of the black actors and actresses are portraying slaves- they’re “Free Blacks who chose to serve” (FBWCTS?). Edit Shaka Zulu so the Zulu’s are peaceful herbivors. We’ll remake “Roots” with Mexicans. Jungle Fever will actually BE in the jungle rather than a story about interracial relationships. Blackhawk Down? Now “Multicoloredhawk Down”. “Ms Daisy is Driving”, the touching story of a wealthy black man and his elderly dottering female chaffeur and their special bond.
The possibilities for re-writing classics to be more PC, colorblind and tolerant are almost overwhelming.
…and would provide JOBS! for a whole host of budding little fascists with Liberal Arts degrees. STIMULUS!
This morning Beck was saying he bought Swiss Family Robinson to read to his kid while they vacationed on a real-live tropical island over Christmas. Told the kid there were pirates.
Well, not for this Swiss Family Robinson. They just kinda ended up on an island and were kinda in danger for some reason and then kinda got rescued or something. No pirates.
Book was a bit thinner than Beck remembers from his childhood. He was talking to the bookstore owner, and it turns out that for every publishing house, the classics used to be a flat ~18% of sales, but now they’ve fallen to ~11%, so they’re dumbing them down, hoping to appeal to the short-attention-span, Angry-Birds-addicted, no-vocabulary-to-understand-the-classics demographic that has become alarmingly large.
I volunteer to redact all of the fatuous social commentary from the Left’s favorite tomes.
Zass! Done!
Oh wait… nothing left.
Amanda and every other leftie we know needs to have this put to them.
All the time, eternally.
They need to see the only people reshaping established literature, the only people telling us what we cannot read or say, are on the Left.
I hope to run into Anna Quindlen someday.
#9 is hilarious.
you can get the swiss family robinson and other classics for your kindle at Project Gutenberg
For now, newrouter, for now.
Dick Gregory is going to have to re-write his autobiography.
Didn’t Kindle owners find that Amazon had removed something from their readers last year, without warning or options, over some sort of licensing foul-up?
Who trusts that the same thing wouldn’t happen to replace the Project Gutenberg editions with the new, PC-friendly version?
This is more evil than book burning or brainwashing.
Robert Byrds speeches are due for a little reworking. You know, for posterity’s sake…
Amazon will help keep the people in line, you betcha.
The very notion that they can delete things is not kosher at all in my book. My guess is, if you read the agreement, you don’t actually own the Kindle at all, but are leasing it in some manner.
– Even worse than the proposed re-writes is I don’t see any of these so-called “Twain experts” even mentioning Twains real accomplishments in writing. Tom is an “excerpt” from a much broader 132 volume massive work of Clements called “Innocents abroad”.
– My Daddy left me a leather bound autographed set of same. If that, along with many other ancillary Twain tomes were common knowledge, the Left would never be able to edit it all. He was a prodigious writer.
When will rap tunes begin being edited. Or will the “N” word be changed to “knackah” in the printed lyrics.
I am listening to this asshat Professor on NPR. What a fucking tool.
He accused a caller of holding the n-word precious, and cannot undestand why opponents hold this offensive term precious. He just said that many of his opponents think the n-word is the essence of the book.
if they’re trying to gets the youts to read should it not be “nigga jim”?
I wish I could find a link to the transcript. It should be posted for all to see, in all its splendor.
– As time goes by, it becomes more and more obvious to everyone that the Left, and their tendencies toward anal retentive control freaking, a gaggle which has made a living trading in race baiting and race wars for generations now, are unable to let it go and get past the past. Without the whole “racial pot stirring” they’d be left with nothing to activate against. Apparently you’ll only pry it from their cold dead fingers, which is exactly what will happen eventually.
Conrad stands up, arm in arm with his fellow Twain, refusing to bend.
Maybe happyfeet can use his google-fu to find a transcript of this ninny.
[…] Wisdom sums up the real concern at the core of this issue: Just because we read a book now — in its current context — doesn’t […]
ot
i despise the lying debbie whatthef**k shultz
/ot
I think this must be the show you heard but no transcript available yet but they’ll have one up later today or tomorrow at the latest
NPR is reveling in this revealing moment and they have maybe a half dozen stories…
here’s a comment from this one
yes.
shine on little diamond
That is it, happyfeet. Thank you.
stuff black people don’t like
link
link
They could have just changed the author’s name to “Kool Moe T” and everyone would be celebrating the diversity
that transcript is live now Mr. JD
here’s the part you talked about
you’re free to read the other versions he recommends
no really go ahead if you want to he says it’s ok
“Why is this word so precious to some people? I just don’t understand.”
what faggot is banned?
Had a interesting discussion with a high school English teacher about the word “retarded”, the euphemism treadmill (thanks someone I’m forgetting), and intentionalism. (I used it in the context of some textbooks encouraging the development of independent thinking skills and others retarding this development.)
It was beyond discouraging. Retarded is an offensive word even as a verb. Regardless of intent. What if a Chinese person learning English used it while thinking it was completely inoffensive? Well, that wouldn’t count because they didn’t know any better. Okay, so far, so good. What if someone knew that another could be offended but still didn’t intend any offense? That’s impossible. If you know someone — anyone — could be offended then you necessarily must mean to offend.
English teacher of the young adults. Young adults who are being retarded by their interaction with such an imbecile.
we have diversity training next month
this is what happens when your hr person wants to get out of NY in the winter
I just don’t see how this isn’t going to be awkward
Just think what the Chisters! will be able to do with Harry Potter once that’s in the public domain!
(If there are any left 150 years from now).
Hey, it’s not like anyone’s time is important, right?
Back when I was in corporate land I’d keep working and when they told me to go over to conference room C for the diversity, sexism or latest management buzzword crap, I’d tell them that I’d prefer to make them some money instead and maybe they should write down the names of all the people in there for the next time they’re looking to fire some dead wood.
This was oddly effective but turned me into old man meany with the bubbleheaded people who always want to make sure everyone gets a cake on their birthday.
Somebody I know would’ve gotten an A in that class.
Although why he bought a boy dog in the first place I have no idea, given the potential pitfalls. At least, so long as we let elderly black men live among us, I mean.
Do me a favor. Tell that high school English teacher to stay the fuck away from my language. And tell him or her that s/he’s been educated poorly, and that s/he needn’t compound that tragedy by passing it on to students.
okaythanks.
Married to a friend of mine, Jeff. The party got a bit quiet for a moment.
I shot him a look that said, “Dude.” He gave me a look that said, “Yeah.”
So I went and got a drink and talked to some other people instead.
(Can’t think of a single developmentally challenged dog joke.)
All reminds me of the Monty Python bookshop sketch; ripping pages out of Olsen’s Standard Book of British Birds in order to achieve an expurgated version.
“I don’t like the ganett. They wet their nests.”
I guess the Ganett is a developmentally challenged bird?
I’m going to hell for linking this, so, you know, click at the peril of your soul.
Greatest super hero evah.
Reminds me of half the dogs I’ve ever owned.
OT, but someone…someone mentioned ‘retarded’ ?
University of TEXSIC~!
Happyfeet is a good good person for providing that linkage and text for everyone. Listening to that assbandit and his pompous arrogant condescending holier than thou attitude puts his asshattery in its proper context.
I nominate “The Invisible Man” for this treatment next.
Thanks a lot, RTO Trainer, now I’m going to hell for laughing at that video.
– No. Laughing is fine. You’ll only go to hell if you snigger.
I tittered. Does that make me a sexist?