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defrogITEM: Mark Twain scholar Alan Gribben is working with NewSouth Books in Alabama to publish a combined volume of The Adventures Od Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer with the word “nigger” replaced with the word “slave”.
Gribben’s argument is that so many schools refuse to put Huckleberry Finn on reading lists because of that one word (and many parents try to have it banned for the same reason), and that it’s a shame that students will never get to read a great book just because of that one word.
As you might guess, I’m against the idea, partly because I oppose censorship, and partly because I especially oppose censorship that sanitizes/whitewashes/rewrites history.
On the other hand, Gribben does raise an interesting point here:
The same could be said for pretty much every media outlet and blog that ran this story, I've noticed.
So, you know, touché and crap.
PRODUCTION NOTE: Apologies to anyone offended by my not resorting to "the n-word", but as I've said here and in the past, I don't believe in banning words wholesale. The word itself is not the problem – it's the context and intent that gives it power.
Unspeakable,
This is dF
Gribben’s argument is that so many schools refuse to put Huckleberry Finn on reading lists because of that one word (and many parents try to have it banned for the same reason), and that it’s a shame that students will never get to read a great book just because of that one word.
As you might guess, I’m against the idea, partly because I oppose censorship, and partly because I especially oppose censorship that sanitizes/whitewashes/rewrites history.
On the other hand, Gribben does raise an interesting point here:
The book isn't scheduled to be published until February, at a mere 7,500 copies, but Gribben has already received a flood of hateful e-mail accusing him of desecrating the novels. He said the e-mails prove the word makes people uncomfortable.
"Not one of them mentions the word. They dance around it," he said.
"Not one of them mentions the word. They dance around it," he said.
The same could be said for pretty much every media outlet and blog that ran this story, I've noticed.
So, you know, touché and crap.
PRODUCTION NOTE: Apologies to anyone offended by my not resorting to "the n-word", but as I've said here and in the past, I don't believe in banning words wholesale. The word itself is not the problem – it's the context and intent that gives it power.
Unspeakable,
This is dF
