• New Edition of Huckleberry Finn will not Contain the N-Word
    145 replies, posted
[URL]http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/[/URL] [quote]What is a word worth? According to [URL="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/45645-upcoming-newsouth-huck-finn-eliminates-the-n-word.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=74671e6e20-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email"][I]Publishers Weekly[/I][/URL], NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel [I]Adventures of Huckleberry Finn[/I] will remove all instances of the “n” word—I’ll give you a hint, it’s not [I]nonesuch[/I]—present in the text and replace it with [I]slave[/I]. The new book will also remove usage of the word [I]Injun[/I]. 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 [I]PW[/I]. “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 [I]The Godfather[/I], 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?[/quote]Yay Censorship
For fuck's sake.
well that's just silly
That's ridiculous. The book is about the early 1800's, why update it to modern times?
I hate how sensitive people are about language. There was a huge fuss over that Catcher in the Rye book because it had the f word in it 4 times. People tried to boycott Slaughter House 5 because it had the word "mother fucker" in it. Just deal with it people.
Well hey there 1984, hows it goin?
this is stupid, why publish the book if you take away the author's words
[QUOTE=Octave;27200852]this is stupid, why publish the book if you take away the author's words[/QUOTE] Make the minorities happy
Oh wow, yeah, not like anybody said the N word back then.
Are you fucking kidding me.
We should censor the bible too. Change Roman, to Italian man. Roman is just pure offensive.
This is great, maybe if we remove historical accounts of racism people will forget it exists!!
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;27200880]Make the minorities happy[/QUOTE] I really doubt the NAACP or SPLC really give a fuck, it's much more likely to be a bunch of over-sensitive middle class white folk.
That's stupid, the word negro was an important aspect of that era. Also, Injuns attacked our wagon trains!
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;27200880]Make the minorities happy[/QUOTE] No, it's because of white guilt.
Hopefully nobody buys this censored piece of shit. The use of that word has a part in the story. It is part of the culture at the time. If it offends you then don't read the book.
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;27200880]Make the minorities happy[/QUOTE] I don't think minorities mind a great piece of American literature using that word. I mean it was published in 1894, I'm sure they appreciate it as much as anyone now.
sounds like if TH89 ruled the FCC
Are you people stupid in the brain or something? Hurr durr its old, same thing with the bible, but they update that regularly, grow up fools.
Isn't that like... A big deal in the book? Like the whole point? Racism in general, really, but still. I never read them, but this is what I remember hearing a year or so ago.
huckleberry finn is in the public domain so it's not like this is some big deal. they aren't the only publisher of the book [quote] A new edition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, forthcoming from NewSouth Books in mid-February, does more than unite the companion boy books in one volume, as the author had intended. It does more even than restore a passage from the Huckleberry Finn manuscript that first appeared in Twain’s Life on the Mississippi and was subsequently cut from the work upon publication. In a bold move compassionately advocated by Twain scholar Dr. Alan Gribben and embraced by NewSouth, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn also replaces two hurtful epithets that appear hundreds of times in the texts with less offensive words, this intended to counter the “preemptive censorship” that Dr. Gribben observes has caused these important works of literature to fall off curriculum lists nationwide. In presenting his rationale for publication, eloquently developed in the book’s introduction, Dr. Gribben discusses the context of the racial slurs Twain used in these books. He also remarks on the irony of the fact that use of such language has caused Twain’s books to join the ranks of outdated literary classics Twain once humorously defined as works “which people praise and don’t read.” At NewSouth, we saw the value in an edition that would help the works find new readers. If the publication sparks good debate about how language impacts learning or about the nature of censorship or the way in which racial slurs exercise their baneful influence, then our mission in publishing this new edition of Twain’s works will be more emphatically fulfilled. Learn more about Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and read an excerpt from the introduction at [url]www.newsouthbooks.com/twain[/url]. See also a feature story on the volume by Marc Shultz at Publishers Weekly.[/quote]
It's a social commentary for fuck's sake. Racism is a central theme in [i]Huckleberry Finn[/i]! why the hell would you censor such a brilliant and enlightening book? Twain was a hundred years ahead of his time! This is completely unacceptable, and the worst bit of it is that the censored version is the one most likely to end up in schools. Twain's rolling in his grave.
Since when was calling someone a Negro racist? Negro = Spanish for Black And in the case of said other N word that is just a Southern slang derivative of the word Negro.
[QUOTE=superdinoman;27201153]Since when was calling someone a Negro racist? Negro = Spanish for Black And in the case of said other N word that is just a Southern slang derivative of the word Negro.[/QUOTE] i didnt know all americans spoke spanish
Fucking political correctness, People only find words offence either because they can or they have some irrelevant connotation e.g. Nigra is latin for Black and was only used by white people because they probably had no other word to call them.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;27201130]It's a social commentary for fuck's sake. Racism is a central theme in [i]Huckleberry Finn[/i]! why the hell would you censor such a brilliant and enlightening book? Twain was a hundred years ahead of his time! This is completely unacceptable, and the worst bit of it is that the censored version is the one most likely to end up in schools. Twain's rolling in grave.[/QUOTE] the sooner people stop talking about racism, the sooner it ends i dont see how you can call this a good thing
This is like people having problems with To Kill a Mockingbird. [editline]4th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=General_Xing;27201192]the sooner people stop talking about racism, the sooner it ends i dont see how you can call this a good thing[/QUOTE] Yes, let's just ignore racism and it will go away on it's own.
[QUOTE=General_Xing;27201180]i didnt know all americans spoke spanish[/QUOTE] Maybe people should? Especially if you live in the USA and a Spanish speaking country sits right below us. I am all for speaking English but having a second language really helps.
This just in: All copies of To Kill a Mockingbird have been recalled in favor of redistributing a more "friendly" abridged version; any and all racial slurs have been replaced with fun! innocent words like cotton candy!
That's just stupid. If you're going to update a book, at least keep the things that were abundant during the setting of it. Imagine if they took it out of To Kill A Mockingbird though. That would pretty much remove half the book.
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