Most of us read it during highschool, and some of us slept through it. Its a book that has long since been forgotten in our minds since that 10th grade class, but its drawing TONS of media attention as of late. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is considered one of English literature's classic American novels for coming-of-age teens in the highschool classroom--but has been the target of swirling controversy when it was first published in 1884. The story is set in a fictional town in Missouri in the late 1830's, and follows the adventures of two friends, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Sounds innocent, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. The language of the book is what is causing so much hoopla around its use in a highschool classroom. Reflective of that time period in history, the characters frequently used the n-word and other racial slurs in reference to a character of the story, Jim, a nearby slave. Over the past 30 years, many schools have banned use of the book in classrooms, citing the language, which was deemed unsuitable for minors. Here's an excerpt from one of the pages of the novel.
EXCERPT (pg. 66)
"Well I reckon there's a right smart chance of people here that'd like to know who killed him. Some think old Finn done it himself."
"No--is that so?"
"Most everybody thought it at first. He'll never know how nigh he come to getting lynched. But before night they changed around and judged it was done by a runaway n****r named Jim."
"Why he--"
I stopped. I reckoned I better keep still. She run on, and never noticed I had put in at all:
"The n****r run off the very night Huck Finn was killed. So there's a reward out for him--three hundred dollars. And there's a reward out for old Finn, too--two hundred dollars. You see, he come to town the morning after the murder, and told about it, and was out with 'em on the ferryboat hunt, and right away after he up and left. Before night they wanted to lynch him, but he was gone, you see. Well, next day they found out the n****r was gone; they found out he hadn't ben seen sence ten o'clock the night the murder was doen. So then they put it on him, you see; and while they was full of it, next day, back comes old Finn, and wen't boo-hooing to Judge Thatcher to get money to hunt for the n****r all over Illinois with."
More recently, a Mark Twain scholar Alan Gribben has announced his plans to publish a censored version of the book. Gribben is working with NewSouth Books in Alabama to publish a new version of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" sometime in February. According to Gribben, the N-word appears 219 times in "Huck Finn" and four times in "Tom Sawyer", but the new version will replace the n-word with "slave". (http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13802339) The media has been a buzz with commentary from educators, writers, and other scholars who are either appalled at the notion, or agree with Gibben's decision. Some say re-writing the novel is just an attempt to avoid necessary but uncomfortable conversations with students on racism, and others say the words only bring hurt and pain--that race conversations about race can occur without this book.
An MU English professor recently went to bat for Gibben's revision plan, and says the idea is an honest attempt to bring more viewers.
As an African-American female, I think it's important to remember and reflect on our history in its entirety--good and bad. I think the context of this book and the book language presents interesting themes to discuss. Although conversations about race and racism in this country are quite uncomfortable for many people, its a necessary...and what better time to start than a 10th grade English lit. class? Maybe teachers need training on how to present and discuss controversial books like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", or maybe schools arrange an assembly to discuss some of the book's issues before students read it. But I personally don't agree in the censorship of literature for the sake of preserving someone's feelings or preventing hurt. The hurt has already happened. The hurt is still there. To me, ignoring what has happened only exasterbates ignorance, and in no way advances a more "racially cognizant" society.
So what do you think? Does the revision ruin an integral piece of American literature? Or is the book's crude language unnecessary in appreciating the themes of the story?
The fact that Twain was satirizing and criticizing slavery should have an impact on whether we decide its okay to censor it... I say no. Read this book in Fourth Grade, and i think that I turned out okay
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lawrence... I remember my 10th grade English teacher reading the book aloud and telling us he would read the n-word because it was part of the history of the book. But he also asked the only black student in our classroom first if he didn't want him too, which I thought was pretty amicable given the situation.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to leave it in because it does open the window of opportunity to talk about and reflect on racism and slavery in the 21st century. And given the situation that just happened with the Hatch Hall statue being vandalized with a slur, I think more people need to be educated early on.
Interesting post. I've thought about this issue lately, too. Personally, not a big fan of any kind of censorship -- always a big fan of conversation.
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