Huckleberry Finn

[Get Down]

After this, they should update Shakespeare. Iambic pentameter can be a stumbling block for high school students, effectively poisoning them against the material.

i'm not trying to be incendiary but given that the professor proposing the changes is frustrated over student hangups on the language used in the book, what should he do? he can take the book out of the classroom, certainly, but he doesn't appear to want to do that.

i'm not even saying it's right to release a version of huck finn censoring these words. that's a discussion to have. i just don't think we've arrived at a scary dystopian future because a professor, sick of not being able to reach many minority students, wants to impart the themes in huck finn without using the highly reactionary language that carries different baggage today than when mark twain was around.

 

[Get Down]

I apologize for not putting up a sign stating every last letter and syntax in my post was sarcastic.

i was commenting on how your sarcasm was unfounded and nonsensical, given that measures are being taken to do the exact opposite of what you're complaining about

 

[moevillini]

It's a bad idea, but if the alternative is that some schools simply won't carry the book in its present edition then we're stuck with an imperfect choice between two censors.

it's not about a word being horrid and this doesn't come off as an attempt to whitewash history to me. the n word carries different baggage today than when twain wrote huck finn. gribben's point is that the word itself can be a stumbling block for certain students, effectively poisoning them against the material.

i don't know where to land but i think a worthwhile question to ask is what are we trying to teach by assigning huck finn in our high school classrooms? is it really that valuable of a novel for students of that age? if so, how affected is the message by changing these words to something that reflects the injustices of the time, but doesn't cause as visceral of a reaction today? if twain's exact words are sacrosanct, are we better off not teaching it in high school at all?

I read it in junior high, as did my kids. It's funny, I also read Johnny Tremaine and To Kill a Mockingbird in junior high, and so did my kids, 30 or so years later. I just remember thinking it was great that here it was, all those years later, and those books still made the cut. Animal Farm, however, did not.

At any rate, if the option is that young people aren't reading these books at all, then I agree with Kicky and GetDown and others that are of the opinion that it's better to read a slightly "whitewashed" version than to not read it at all. I imagine that most teachers would likely also include lessons on the background and history of prejudice and segregation in our country so that the story is not being read in a vacuum.

And it's not as if the original text of the book would not still be available in other libraries or through retail outlets.

 

[moevillini]

After this, they should update Shakespeare. Iambic pentameter can be a stumbling block for high school students, effectively poisoning them against the material.

and maybe the Bible as well, that language can be pretty tough to decipher too. All those begottens and thous, somebody really should rewrite it in plain English. Who cares about King James anyhow.

 

[Archie Moses]

This thread reminds me of jazzfanz and the word gay.

 

[PearlWatson]

and maybe the Bible as well, that language can be pretty tough to decipher too. All those begottens and thous, somebody really should rewrite it in plain English. Who cares about King James anyhow.

Nobody reads the Bible any more, especially not in public school.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

i was commenting on how your sarcasm was unfounded and nonsensical, given that measures are being taken to do the exact opposite of what you're complaining about

Who cares, get with the times.
It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be somewhat funny.

I do think that changing the words is lame. Keep it the way it is.
By the way the Poll Question makes it seem like the words are being removed, not changed to another word.
Lazy people like me won't actually read the whole article unless forced to by people like you.

 

[sirkickyass]

And it's not as if the original text of the book would not still be available in other libraries or through retail outlets.

I believe it's in the public domain, which would make it widely available on the internet as well.

 

[sirkickyass]

This thread reminds me of jazzfanz and the word gay.

 

[Get Down]

Who cares, get with the times.
It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be somewhat funny.

I do think that changing the words is lame. Keep it the way it is.
By the way the Poll Question makes it seem like the words are being removed, not changed to another word.
Lazy people like me won't actually read the whole article unless forced to by people like you.

ok ok i'm sorry! you might like this

*removed by moderator*

 

[LogGrad98]

What about the 3rd alternative? We just burn all books?

This could lead to the final irony, are they going to censor Fahrenheit 451?

 

[LogGrad98]

and maybe the Bible as well, that language can be pretty tough to decipher too. All those begottens and thous, somebody really should rewrite it in plain English. Who cares about King James anyhow.

The New World Translation is in more or less plain english.

https://www.towerwatch.com/Witnesses/New_World_Translation/new_world_translation.htm