‘Huckleberry Finn,’ Minus the N-Word
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is about to get a major makeover in the form of a significant edit to be made in NewSouth Books’ edition of Mark Twain's iconic novel. Specifically, the notorious n-word will be swapped out for "slave," along with one other race-related alteration.
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is about to get a major makeover in the form of a significant edit to be made in NewSouth Books’ edition of Mark Twain’s iconic novel. Specifically, the notorious n-word will be swapped out for “slave,” along with one other race-related alteration. –KA
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The new book will also remove usage of the word Injun. 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 PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.”
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Rafe Esquith, teaching phenom of fifth-graders at Hobart Elementary School, ran afoul of the school’s administration, initially because of a joke overheard by a colleague.
What does Mark Twain’s classic outsider hero Huck Finn have to do with the small army of affable manchildren that actor Seth Rogen has played in Judd Apatow films?
If you find this book offensive, don’t buy it or read it. There are plenty of books that none of us have an interest in reading for one reason or another. We don’t rewrite them. We simply choose not to read them.Erasing racial epithets doesn’t erase race or racism. Actually, not talking about the “hurtful epithets” perpetuates racism because we’re never allowed to make corrections.
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