Revisiting Huck Finn

This will sound familiar to all of us who were in Mrs. Johnson’s English class last year; I believe that we even wrote a Synthesis Essay on a topic similar to this one. It concerns Mark Twain’s satirical masterpiece, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Since the time of its publishing in 1885, controversy has surrounded the novel. Throughout the years, numerous people around the country have fought to have it taken off of shelves and out of curriculums, only to have a number of others scrambling to get it back in the public school system. Arguments have gone on for years over whether the book is appropriate – with its use of words that are no longer politically correct – for students (or anyone for that matter) to read.

It’s now apparent that attempting to ban the book simply won’t fly. But Twain scholar Alan Gribben believes that something can be done to tone down the novel’s harsh language. With the mindset that the book be "updated for today’s times" (Yahoo News), Gribben, in partnership with NewSouth Books, plans to publish a version of Huck Finn that takes out both the “n” word (replacing it with “slave”) and “injun,” a derogatory term for Native Americans.

Response from sources all over the web have flared up; cries of “huck finn censored” are all over the internet. However, some support the change, claiming that it will make the novel easier to teach in the classroom by eliminating feelings of discomfort with the book’s language. Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life makes a good point that “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” (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/). It’s also important to note that although there will be a censored manuscript, untouched versions of Huck Finn will continue to be printed.

Of course, being in the liberal Bay Area, I’m sure that the majority of us would never dream of banning Huck Finn from being taught. According to Mrs. Johnson, only about one student a year argues for banning the book in that Synthesis Essay of hers. I myself not only thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but thought that it had a world of information to offer both as a historical and literary piece. But could there be any good in slightly altering a copy of the novel to make it “school-appropriate?” Should the original text be respected? Is anything lost – or possibly gained – from replacing the offensive words?

For another overview of the situation, go to Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110104/en_yblog_newsroom/huck-finn-gets-some-changes.