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Can't tell from the article - is it an extensive rewrite, or just a change of the terms? Some classics do well with a gentle rewrite every now and then, anyone here ever slug through, say, an old version of "The 3 Musketeers"? Boring. I wouldn't have stuck with it if I hadn't read an abridged version first.
But if Twain's language has been kept in all particulars except the offensive terms, it's an obnoxious hackjob. Censors, like terrorists, should not be negotiated with.
Can't tell from the article - is it an extensive rewrite, or just a change of the terms? Some classics do well with a gentle rewrite every now and then, anyone here ever slug through, say, an old version of "The 3 Musketeers"? Boring. I wouldn't have stuck with it if I hadn't read an abridged version first.
But if Twain's language has been kept in all particulars except the offensive terms, it's an obnoxious hackjob. Censors, like terrorists, should not be negotiated with.
From what I've read, the following words have been replaced:
'n*gger' is now 'slave'
'Inj*n' is now 'Indian'
'half-breed' is now 'half-blood'
Makes you feel so much better about the world, doesn't it?
Last edited by AnUnidentifiedMale; 01-05-2011 at 11:21 PM..
I firmly believe that the original words should be kept
BUT
NOT in versions for children.....
What if parents want their kids to read the original version in school? Why should they have to buy a uncensored version of it? Shouldn't it be the other way around? If parents doesn't want their kid to read the original, they should have to buy a censored version especially for their kid.
Well I submit to you that a young black child shouldn't have to be submitted to such a hateful word reading a novel that supposedly was well meaning. What do you think a child would get out of reading the "N" word 219 times other than abject hatred towards someone who is not white?
When did a term based on mispronouncing the Spanish word for black become "hateful"?
If someone "hated" blacks / negroes / africans / n word, removing the n word does not change a thing.
But if someone assumed that any reference to their ancestry was derogatory, perhaps I could see why it is important to expunge.
However, since blacks call each other (n word), it can't mean "hateful".
And Sly's song, "Don't call me n word, w word..." would have to be expunged, as well.
But for some strange reason, w word people don't get upset when their racial characteristics are used as a slur. (Ex: Will Smith commenting on the melanin deficiencies of his co-stars)
Baffling.
Well I submit to you that a young black child shouldn't have to be submitted to such a hateful word reading a novel that supposedly was well meaning. What do you think a child would get out of reading the "N" word 219 times other than abject hatred towards someone who is not white?
Submit what you want. My child(ren) who ARE black, are taught what the real world is like. Not some watered down, milk toast version, of a bunch of liberal white people, who want to re-write history.
Huckleberry Finn is history. And replacing the "N" word (since you can't say ****** on here), with "slave," is re-writing history, to placate, some rich white people, who want to show the world: "We care."
No you, no they don't. You care? Leave things along; just as they were written. The world needs to remember EVERYTHING. Not just what is politically correct for the moment.
By the way, I do not and most people do not, believe Mark Twain was a racist. In fact, the exact opposite.
Have they done the same thing with "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?
Yup... I'm a librarian, and Uncle Tom makes our list of "challenged books" almost every year!
I already commented on the other thread (over on the Books sub-forum), but I'll reiterate that I do NOT support censorship in any form - including the changing of Mark Twain's original writing. The American Library Association is also not going to support this, nor would any librarian worth employing. And FWIW, I would never allow a patron to pressure me into removing a book from the shelves... unless you can convince me it has absolutely no value to the collection, I stand behind my book selections.
It's not that I like the "n-word" or anything, I just understand its place in that context - and changing these words changes the entire tone of the novel. It has also opened a discourse on racism in many classes, so burying this text could cause more harm than good.
Well I submit to you that a young black child shouldn't have to be submitted to such a hateful word reading a novel that supposedly was well meaning. What do you think a child would get out of reading the "N" word 219 times other than abject hatred towards someone who is not white?
I would disagree. I was exposed as a vey young child to ignorance and bigotry. It is part of an education and prepares one for life. The parents can help the child understand this. First graders are not going to be reading this book. Those who can read it are at an age where they can start to analyze it and think critically.
This is no different than those who a few years ago wanted to change the word plantation to manor, trying to mask the horrors of plantation slavery as some type of English manor house. History is what it is.
Can't tell from the article - is it an extensive rewrite, or just a change of the terms? Some classics do well with a gentle rewrite every now and then, anyone here ever slug through, say, an old version of "The 3 Musketeers"? Boring. I wouldn't have stuck with it if I hadn't read an abridged version first.
But if Twain's language has been kept in all particulars except the offensive terms, it's an obnoxious hackjob. Censors, like terrorists, should not be negotiated with.
Well I submit to you that a young black child shouldn't have to be submitted to such a hateful word reading a novel that supposedly was well meaning. What do you think a child would get out of reading the "N" word 219 times other than abject hatred towards someone who is not white?
^^^^
This is called white guilt. It's a disorder that often appears with liberals.
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