What The Huck Did They Do To The Mark Twain Classic?

Neil S. Friedman at sheepshead.com wrote an interesting piece on the censorship of Mark Twain's classic American novel, Huckleberry Finn.

This argument subsequently resurfaced when a publisher issued a revised edition of Huck Finn and changed more than 200 mentions of the “N” word, plus a smaller number from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and replaced them with the word “slaves.” Other alterations included “Injun Joe” changed to “Indian Joe” and “half-breed” to “half-blood,” presumably to avoid an added chorus of disapproval from Native Americans in search of equal treatment.

When political correctness is used to alter celebrated works, which contain conventional language and attitudes at the time they were published, it’s deceptive and disgraceful, no matter how repugnant some might perceive them.

When Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were published, in 1885 and 1876 respectively, the “N” word was not necessarily uttered with malice, but rather out of habit. As a result, censoring the word today dilutes and misrepresents the original narratives.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2012/06/what-the-huck-did-they-do-to-the-mark-twain-classic/