Books have influenced people in unexplainable and powerful ways. Harry Potter spawned a fandom not only willing to brave bookstores at midnight for the final installment, but inspired Quidditch leagues in colleges across the country. Narnia has caused generations of children to be wary of wardrobes, and some parents have been inspired to dub their offspring Frodo after the hero of Lord of the Rings.
On the other hand, books like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” helped promote abolition. Charles Dickens’s “Bleak House” helped bring about English legal reform in the 1870s. Jane Austen’s novels captured her time’s society for generations to come with accurate portrayals of characters and situations.
Mark Twain combined historical realism with social commentary to create one of the most beloved classics of all time: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
“Huckleberry Finn” is read by students in public schools. However, since being banned in 1885 by the Concord, Mass., public library for its vulgar language, Twain’s novel has been a center of controversy and is one of the most challenged books of all time.
Throughout the novel, Huck and others refer to African Americans by the “n-word.” The word is used 218 times. Huck, however, does not use the word unkindly but merely as an extension of how he was raised.
Twain used the word for historical accuracy and hoped to show Huck grapple with “a sound heart” and an “ill-trained conscience.” Part of the conflict of the novel is to show how a person with a good heart learns to value others for their human worth, despite race, can overcome an immoral society.
However, despite the reasons for Twain’s use of racial slurs, many have been unable to see past the offensive language. Next month, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” will be packaged together in “The New South Edition,” edited by Alan Gribben. Gribben, hoping to give the books a wider audience, will replace the “n-word” with “slave,” the slang “Injun” with “Indian” and the word “half-breed” with “half-blood.”
Despite his well-meaning intentions, this is censorship. By deliberately changing the words of the text, Gribben will change the impact of the dialogue in the novels. Not only will the characters no longer be portrayed as accurately as before, but the offensiveness of the insults will be toned down, which, yes, is a bad thing.
Without allowing the students full access to the original version, teachers are doing their charges a disservice. If the middle and high schoolers are not exposed to the horrors of the past, it is easier to forget about them. The word “slave” does not have the same impact on people today because, to most of us, the reality of slavery does not exist. However, the “n-word” is still a highly degrading insult, and the word makes it clear how hateful people can be because of ethnicity.
Not only is Gribben bastardizing Twain’s masterpiece, he is taking away some of the power behind the message found in “Huckleberry Finn.” The racial slurs, including the word “half-breed,” make it obvious some of the characters see those of other races as sub-human or at least were taught to speak that way. “Half-blood” isn’t nearly as offensive, and as Gribben points out in “The New South Edition’s” introduction, even has gained panache because of books like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
Twain never uses the racial slurs as a narrator, only in dialogue. It’s obvious he is not promoting the use of such words and even offers a contrast to the racist characters.
It’s good to be offended by the racial slurs Twain’s characters use. The author intended to show those horrors. To truly have someone understand how hurtful words can be and how hateful others can be to those different from themselves, sometimes blatant realism should be portrayed, even at the expense of stepping on the toes of the sensitive.
Despite whether or not Twain should have used the words in the first place, Gribben should never have changed them. He has no right to diminish the intensity of several scenes or edit something so heavily. While he may think he is opening up the world of Twain to a greater audience, he is really promoting censorship. What’s next? Several paragraphs changed, several chapters or even the plot or intentions of the author?
Censorship is censorship. No matter what the intentions, the possible consequences of encouraging changes to an author’s work that affect the message and plot of the novel are too great. While the book’s audience may grow, the true impact may be lessened to something little more than a “fun read.”
Hannah Rogers is the assistant news editor of the Reflector. She can be contacted at [email protected].