Last night I read this article, after maybe hearing or seeing something about it earlier in the day.
In short, a "Mark Twain scholar" has decided to take the N-word out of Huckleberry Finn. In his own words he states his reason, "Both novels can be enjoyed deeply and authentically without those continual encounters with the hundreds of now-indefensible racial slurs." His name is Alan Gribben and is a member of the English faculty at Auburn.
How he can claim that Mark Twain's work could be enjoyed "authentically" without the use of the word is baffling. I'm sure Michelangelo's David could be enjoyed authentically as well while wearing a muumuu. The use of the N-word is more about casting light on the ugliness of racial attitudes of the time and making the reader question the harm the word brings, as opposed to just the casual use of the word by the author. It was meant to offend and shame the people that use it without thinking. Maybe, just maybe, that by keeping it in, and teaching what it means, there would be less use of it now.
Allow me for one moment to go a step further than what was said in the CNN article. I like science fiction (stay with me here) especially Fahrenheit 451. Why is there censorship and book burnings in Ray Bradbury's vision of the future? People might be offended, or hurt by what they read. Removing the N-word (and several other slurs like "injun") from Mark Twain's novel is a step toward this future. I joke about "seashells" becoming ever more common and "Parlor Walls" being one CES away, but white washing works of fiction for commercial gain (let's admit it that's what this is about, selling the book to people who use the word and don't want to see themselves in the characters) is one step closer to Montag hiding books in his vent.
