the "N" word to be removed from Huck Finn

I'd say if anything I'm on the right track...

 

God bless the 'n' word.

 

precisely. A good author chooses words very, very deliberately. An author's work is comparable to a great painter who places even the smallest dots of paint quite deliberately. We would never think about editing an offensive painting, so why is it acceptable to edit a classic book? To remove a word placed there by the author deliberately in order to convey a message removes the message completely.

 

Maybe they could just shorten the "N" word to two letters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQfGd3G6dg"]YouTube - Knights Who Say Ni

 

If they were turning War and Peace into a handy pocket sized pamphlet I would agree with you.

 

So a book's length and the condensing of it's length merits concern over the changing of its literary integrity, but not the changing of its context or contents?

 

I say keep it in there. I think it's a sign of the times. It shows how people really were back then; their etiquette, their way of life, whether it's racist or not shouldn't be a question. It's no secret that our country, along with other countries around the world (in terms of slavery), were so messed up centuries and even as soon as decades ago. People should know about our past so we can learn from our mistakes. Also, not to say exactly "toughen people up" about this sort of thing, but just allow them to be knowledgeable. Leave the novel as the author (Mark Twain) would have wanted it. I'd like to re-read it now just to see what sort of things I missed reading it when I was younger.

For the record, I'm *sigh* "caucasian" but I do not take lightly to the use of the "N-bomb." Any other racist slurs, eh whatever. You won't catch me usin' em, but sometimes they're not really that offensive. If someone takes offense to it tho, you bet your ass I'm gonna have some say about it.

omg! He just dropped the "N-Bomb"

You people?! What do you mean "You people?"
What do YOU mean... "You people?"
--Tropic Thunder

 

They should not. It's a classic. Read it the way it was written. I won't be correct if they change it. They used to say ****** for other things rather than a black person. For everybody it was used for a while.

 

On one hand.. I completely disagree with censoring Mark Twain. That`s just dumber than shit.

On the other.. I remember loving the book when I was about 7. (I was a weird kid..) And read how the word ****** (a word I had never heard before) was used often, and casually, with no negative context.

One day I was in a McDonalds with my mom, and there was a black person taking our order. I said,

`Mom, tell the ****** that I want a cheeseburger and fries`

....having no idea what the fuck I was actually saying. It was just another word to me.

I could see how to grade school kids (the books are being censored for grade school kids, not middle schoolers or high schoolers) the book could just give them another word to say that makes adults flip the fuck out. And I`d be willing to bet theyd use it in context. I could see that side.

That said.. I still think censoring Mark Twain is a kick in the balls to literature. I`d rather grade schools leave it on their banned book list, and have the kids read it a few years later.

 

I don't see how it's an appropriate book for grade school.

 

I don't think that is true.

Is Jim a slave?
Is the book about slavery?
Could you point me to some crucial text where anything but the N word is just not enough.

 

If you think any word comes anywhere near the impact of '******' in America, you know nothing about the sociology of the country.

 

did you bother to read the article? It wasn`t very long...

this is the third paragraph,

I agree.. I don`t get why everyone`s making such a big fucking deal out of this.

 

Not to be rude, but it doesn't matter if you, the publishers, or anyone else thinks that another word could suffice. Mark Twain used that word and that's how the work should stay. It's his writing. If human beings can't be mature enough to read the word and not necessarily use it, they just shouldn't read the damn book.

 

It blows my mind that people still get hung up on words. Seriously. Words are symbols formed out of letters. When they were first being put together they were assigned meaning so that people could communicate with one another. If a word means something to someone, and another to someone else, than that's fine. 100 years ago the word ****** meant something to a lot people. Today, mostly due to its use by black people in the media, it doesn't mean as much.

Words are symbols, they're wholly meaningless. Nothing, period. We only allow them to evoke feeling because we're emotional beings, but they needn't have control over how we feel.

 

You are right. My apologies. I read both articles last night and had convinced myself it was saying something else. I guess I was a little tired.
This article made more sense to me http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/cultur...erry-finn-and-******-jim-sense-or-censorship/

 

Fair enough.

 

no worries..:afro:


They aren`t very clear about it anyway..

I dont think an average grade schooler can really understand the themes of the book anyway, I`d rather it stay banned.

 

I remember when we read the book in 10th grade, we were reading it aloud in class and the first time the word came up, that awkward pause when the student didn't know what to do, then our teacher just said "Oh for for the love of fucking christ you're reading text for a book, don't be a pussy you bastard. Now that we've got some swears going, just say the word ****** already" Or something along that, it was still one of the funniest moments in class ever

Our teacher was hella cool though. He was a douche in 12th grade though.


But taking the word out of the book is fucking asinine. The constant use of the word ****** is part of a scathing reaction to the racism in the south following the end of reconstruction and the removal of federal troops. It nullifies a major point.

 

I think the title of the book should be changed to Huckleberry Finnish, because the abbreviated term "Finn" is offensive to Finnish people.