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

[Fury]

New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the 'n' word
by Keith Staskiewicz
Categories: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Censorship, Classic Novels, Controversy, Fiction
Comments 907 Add comment

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. “Race matters in these books,” Gribben told PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.”

Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling “Censorship!” as well as others with thesauruses yelling “Bowdlerization!” and “Comstockery!” Their position is understandable: Twain’s book has been one of the most often misunderstood novels of all time, continuously being accused of perpetuating the prejudiced attitudes it is criticizing, and it’s a little disheartening to see a cave-in to those who would ban a book simply because it requires context. On the other hand, if this puts the book into the hands of kids who would not otherwise be allowed to read it due to forces beyond their control (overprotective parents and the school boards they frighten), then maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. It’s unfortunate, but is it really any more catastrophic than a TBS-friendly re-edit of The Godfather, you down-and-dirty melon farmer? The original product is changed for the benefit of those who, for one reason or another, are not mature enough to handle it, but as long as it doesn’t affect the original, is there a problem?

What do you think, Shelf-Lifers? Unnecessary censorship or necessary evil?

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/

Really? This is what it has come to? How sad. Political correctness is going to destroy this country.

[Soul Crusher]

Unreal.   


PanziNation.   

[Straw Man]

this is lame

leave the book the way it was written

[Straw Man]

Unreal.   
PanziNation.   

aren't you a US citizen

are you calling yourself a pansy?

why don't you blame the publisher instead of making such stupid comments?

[Soul Crusher]

aren't you a US citizen

are you calling yourself a pansy?

why don't you blame the publisher instead of making such stupid comments?

Born - Bronx, NY, 5/8/1975.   

Yes, we are becoming a pussy nation.   

[Fury]

aren't you a US citizen

are you calling yourself a pansy?

why don't you blame the publisher instead of making such stupid comments?

What's wrong with what he said? This country, as well as much of the western world, is turning into a bunch of hyper-sensitive pussies, all fueled and pushed along by the far-left agenda.

[Straw Man]

What's wrong with what he said? This country, as well as much of the western world, is turning into a bunch of hyper-sensitive pussies, all fueled and pushed along by the far-left agenda.

if you want to blame someone then blame the publisher

these blanket statements about the country as a whole are just stupid

[Soul Crusher]

if you want to blame someone then blame the publisher

these blanket statements about the country as a whole are just stupid

    

Head in the sand as always.   

[Fury]

if you want to blame someone then blame the publisher

these blanket statements about the country as a whole are just stupid

Not at all. This is just par the course for people like you, who love to paint anyone who makes any comment that can be spun as insensitive as a racist bigot. Why are you acting like it's surprising? It was only a matter of time before this stuff started infecting our literature and what not. We've already seen it with history textbooks describing Islam as this bastion of religious progress and tolerance while vilifying Christianity and Judaism.

[Straw Man]

Not at all. This is just par the course for people like you, who love to paint anyone who makes any comment that can be spun as insensitive as a racist bigot. Why are you acting like it's surprising? It was only a matter of time before this stuff started infecting our literature and what not. We've already seen it with history textbooks describing Islam as this bastion of religious progress and tolerance while vilifying Christianity and Judaism.

wft are you talking about

i said leave the book alone

I never make blanket statements about the country (either right or left)

I've never seen or commenting on the history books you claim vilify Christianity etc..

what does this even have to do wth the topic at hand?

[blacken700]

holy f#uk they took out the word neeegrooow

[Straw Man]

holy f#uk they took out the word neeegrooow

I say leave it the way Twain wrote it

part of the story is how Hucks view of Jim changes over the course of the book and it's written in the parlance of the times (there's a Big Lebowski reference for those in the know)

[Fury]

holy f#uk they took out the word neeegrooow

Hahaha, someone has never read the book. Just how uneducated are you?

[Soul Crusher]

What is funny - call me a wop, dago, guinea, greaser, etc, i could care less.  

Call a twink a fag - world ends

Call a black a black, eggplant, coon, mavkraki, - world ends

Call a jew a kike - no biggie  

Call a irish guy a mick - no biggie

Call a hispanic - a spic, taco, etc - no biggie.  

Call a chinamen/jap a eggroll, a chink, a slant, etc - no biggie



Who gives a fuck anymore?  

  
  

[Straw Man]

What is funny - call me a wop, dago, guinea, greaser, etc, i could care less.  

Call a twink a fag - world ends

Call a black a guy, eggplant, ####, mavkraki, - world ends

Call a jew a kike - no biggie  

Call a irish guy a mick - no biggie

Call a hispanic - a spic, taco, etc - no biggie.  

Call a chinamen/jap a eggroll, a chink, a slant, etc - no biggie

Who gives a fuck anymore?  
  

pleny of people still care and it's all about context (something you seem to never understand)

I doubt you go into court and use any of those words

[Hugo Chavez]

I think it's a stupid thing to do but the book is in the public domain.  If someone wanted to, they could rewrite the whole story.  This isn't the new official version lol...  This is obviously a censored version and you can't change that fact.  It doesn't replace the original or mean that the original won't also be published and read.  Anybody can publish Hucklberry Finn.

[Fury]

I think it's a stupid thing to do but the book is in the public domain.  If someone wanted to, they could rewrite the whole story.  This isn't the new official version lol...  This is obviously a censored version and you can't change that fact.  It doesn't replace the original or mean that the original won't also be published and read. 

This is about as stupid as it gets. The widely held consensus is that this book was written to highlight the idiocy of racism. By taking the racist parts out the entire message and point of the book disappears.

[Hugo Chavez]

This is about as stupid as it gets. The widely held consensus is that this book was written to highlight the idiocy of racism. By taking the racist parts out the entire message and point of the book disappears.

I agree with that 100%.  But what I said is true.