Rewriting Twain? Really?

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   BillyDRitchieposted 13 years ago

   I'm surprised no one has posted about this...but apparently there is a new edition of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn being released in Feb with all references to the "N" word removed. 
   
   Are you or are you not in favor of fundamentally altering classic works in order to make them more politically correct for modern audiences?  Why or why not?
   
   I say leave the classics alone.  Let them stand as a testament to the time in which they were created.

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      china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It is not double standard - it is pure ignorance.  Twain wrote it partly in defense of the negro slave, blacking out the n word just reflects the modern tendency to black out the race issues that are still alive and kicking in many places, especially the USA.

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         Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         "blacking out the n word just reflects the modern tendency to black out the race issues that are still alive and kicking in many places, especially the USA."
         
         Oh yeah, the racist USA, we have a black leader....do you?

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            china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            What ?  are you saying the US is not racist ?

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               Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I'm saying that in November of 2008 a majority of citizens of the U.S. elected a black man to lead them.
               
               Assuming you don't live in the U.S. has your country ever done that?

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            Flightkeeperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Dude, the guy thinks you're TK Sensei...
            
              He probably thinks Obama's white.

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               Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I get accused of being all kinds of people.
               
               Its funny.

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                  Flightkeeperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I know, but it's so funny that you can make the libs in the forum foam in the mouth. I do enjoy it so. I'm sorry that you have to go through it. 

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                     Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Thank you for your concern.
                     
                     They do get a little huffy don't they.

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      Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The only people who read Twain as racist are people that don't have the intelligence to follow the stories he wrote. He was a smart man, so it is not hard to imagine how the slow miss it. The depth and beauty of his humanity in Huckleberry Finn, his absolutely genius approach to CLEARLY ILLUMINATING what was wrong with racism while pretending to have no opinion, is incredible.
      
      Only the stupid don't see it, and to allow that kind of ignorance to deprive future generations of Twain's genius is a travesty. I get so sick of people looking for racism under every rock and behind every door. They are so sure the world is out to get them that they have lost the ability to truly tell which is which.  Their whole world is an ink-blot test filled with white hoods and conspiracies.

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      lxxyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I only caught the lead-in to said news story--but as soon as they mentioned Mark Twain, Huck Finn, and "editing" I thought of the only word one might object to.
      
      I opine this to be analogous to many great literary books forewarning us of this day--Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 prime examples.
      
      "He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future"-George Orwell

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         Flightkeeperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         And let's not forget Animal Farm and doublespeak.  His novels are certainly prescient.

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            lxxyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Yep! His vision of the future is our nightmare reality..

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         Buffoonposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Same thoughts here:
         
         http://hubpages.com/hub/Political-corre … ig-brother
         
         I'm infuriated at this total insanity but at least it's good to see some sanity and common sense still exist in the world.

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      marwan asmarposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think classics should be left alone as they reflect eras and the "genuinity" of these periods. As to political correctness, well, its "good" and everywhere; we don't need to be reminded of it everytime!

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   Flightkeeperposted 13 years ago

   Ssshhh! You're not supposed to be pointing out the double standard.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      ?

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         Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I think she means that most liberals believe that conservatives want to ban or rewrite books.

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            Uninvited Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            But why is a double standard just because someone didn't bring this up in the forum after it was made the cause de jour? Some of us do have lives outside the forum.

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               Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I'll let you figure out why its a double standard.
               
               Not that you would ever admit to there being one.

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                  SarahLinnyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I think that china man makes a pretty good point. To say that the USA is not racist because we have a black leader is a bit ignorant. There is a good chance that china man is also a citizen of the US, and for you to blindly assume that he is not because of his name is in and of itself racist and small minded.
                  
                  Yes, we have a black leader, but that black leader speaks like a white man, is surrounded by white people, and is the first person of ANY color to lead our country after a long line of privileged white males...
                  
                  But let me guess, you're not racist because you have a Black friend and maybe kissed a Black girl once (but you'll never bring her home because she's just not your type).
                  
                  Do you happen to be from the midwest?

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                     SarahLinnyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Okay, let me add a bit to my comment. In my surprise at your inability to see your own bigotry, those of you who attacked so quickly at someone's mention of a major downfall of the US (a country of which, mind you, I am a proud citizen), I failed to look at china man's profile and see that he is, in fact, in China. My mistake.
                     
                     However, let me maintain my original point while altering the way I made it. You attack a man who lives in another country for the way his country is run, for his leader not being of another race but Chinese, but at the same time, you say that his country is racist. Is your whole point not relying on a racist issue? You are a hypocrite of the most dangerous kind, my friend, the kind who make an institution of being no more than a closeminded asshole.

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                        Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        "You attack a man who lives in another country for the way his country is run, for his leader not being of another race but Chinese, but at the same time, you say that his country is racist."
                        
                        Hmmmm, you're not really following this thread too well.
                        
                        You may want to back up and try again.

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                           Flightkeeperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           

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                           SarahLinnyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put thought into what I was saying. And flightkeeper, close your mouth, the flies are getting in.

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                              Flightkeeperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              That's okay the laughs were worth a bug or two.

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                              Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put thought into what I was saying."
                              
                              Thought is good.
                              
                              I like thought.
                              
                              I thought Chinaman said the U.S, was racist.
                              
                              I now know from you that I attacked Chinaman and called his country racist.
                              
                              Thats what I get for thinking.

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                              china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Sarah - You are wasting your time responding to the troll, all it will do is get you to make a mistake and slip into personal attack against the outright bigotry and irritating garbage - then you will get banned from the forums.

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                     Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     "There is a good chance that china man is also a citizen of the US, and for you to blindly assume that he is not because of his name is in and of itself racist and small minded."
                     
                     Are you bigoted towards people from the midwest?
                     
                     Thats very small minded.

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                        SarahLinnyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Haha YES! I am. Well, only the ones who make comments like yours.

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            Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No, you like burning them intact.

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               BillyDRitchieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Odd, I wasn't aware of any conservative who is in favor of banning or burning any book.
               
               Historically, it has been the liberal side who wishes to shut down any speech they disagree with....(remember the Fairness Doctrine they were determine to impose on talk radio?0

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   Jaggedfrostposted 13 years ago

   oh but my dears, Twain was supposed to be a great thinker of progress.  He cant have such works on his record.  Someone has to clean up his mess.

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   Rafiniposted 13 years ago

   Leave the classics alone!  If Mark Twain is allowed to be rewritten, to remove the 'n' word, then Shakespeare's Othello would have to be rewritten to remove all references of Othello being black, and a Moor.  In fact, all Shakespeare's plays would have to be rewritten in order to make sense! Not to mention some of Hawthorne's works, or Charles Dickens, or....

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   Jim Hunterposted 13 years ago

   I guess the Tin man should be called the "Recycled materials man".
   
   The witch is "Alternative religion person".
   
   The cowardly lion can be "Bravery challenged".

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   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   I'm surprised the Mark Twain foundation is allowing this! It really is taking political correctness too far!
   
   I think the UK re-worded the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep" though not sure what to. Not many words can be used instead to keep the rhythm. Maybe they just banned kids from singing it.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

   I would leave it. What is next, rewriting To Kill a Mockingbird? Books should definitely be left as they were written, they reflect that time. I can't see how anyone could take that seriously.
   
   I read Huckleberry Finn as a kid, it did not make me racist...
   
   I heard about this before the conservative blogs and CNN picked it up but didn't think an actually publisher was doing this. I will be avoiding the publisher from now on.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

   And here we go bringing up the stupid argument that just because a liberal didn't post on the HubPages forum about it that means they accept it and are not upset about it.

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      Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't believe thats the argument.
      
      There is a double standard.
      
      They remove the "N" word so as not to offend.
      
      What a liberal posts or doesn't post wont change that fact.

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      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      it's so predictable. I've stopped reading their rants.
      
      Huck Finn should be left alone.

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   I am DB Cooperposted 13 years ago

   This isn't the first time a censored version of Twain's books has been published. Sales are always flat and the story goes away.
   
   By the way, is there a reason why nobody is saying the word in question in here? Is it against forum rules? Using the term "the N-word" gives the word more power than it deserves. People don't want to actually say the word, so they use "the N-word", which makes the listener or reader say the actual word in their heads, so the speaker/writer is just shifting the use of the term from themselves to the listener.

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      lxxyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Nigger alone is offensive to many, and can be perceived as "racist," which would be definitely against TOS.
      
      I snigger, recalling a case where a teacher used the word "niggardly" (which, could be classified as being stingy) and reprimanded because of it.
      
      http://www.adversity.net/special/niggardly_again.htm
      
      You're absolutely right, tho.
      
      "It's the suppression of the word that gives it the violence, viciousness."-Lenny Bruce

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         Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It just infuriates me that so many actually believe we should run the country from a position of appeasing the ignorant and defending hypersensitivity. 
         
         The offended parent should have been taken aside by the principle of the school and told, privately, "Um, listen ma'am, the word means 'miserly' and, well, so now you know. If you'd like, we have adult literacy classes on Wednesday nights at 7:00, and we'd love to see you there."
         
         But no, they'd rather make a big show of apology rather than defend what is right. What a bunch of frightened, bullied wimps too terrified to defend themselves, too beaten down by the PC crowd to stand up for truth.
         
         It's pathetic.

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            lxxyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            It went national; people took sides. As with most rulings/dealings such as this, the press propped it up for its controversy points. This isn't the first time I've seen this happen, and it won't be the last.
            
            This is why you don't go around giving people authority. They don't know what to do with it.

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               Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I've listened to a lot of student debates on this topic in college classrooms. Professors are pressured to pull it from COLLEGE reading lists in AMERICAN lit courses. It's pretty amazing.

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    habeeposted 13 years ago

    Some of you hubbers might be surprised by how many school systems have banned Huck Finn. What a shame! As several of you have said, Twain was speaking out AGAINST racism. Ironically, some schools in the Deep South banned the book decades ago because they understood this and didn't like the message. They also didn't like the idea of a white boy and an adult black male having such a close relationship and being naked together.

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    logic,commonsenseposted 13 years ago

    I read Huck Finn as a child and rather than make me racist, it impressed upon me that racism is wrong.
    It depends on how one inteprets what one reads I guess.
    Just like anything else, you will see what you want to see in writing, politics, religion,or statistics.

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    Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

    Progressives who are rewriting it?
    
    "10. It’s coming from the “New South.” Actually, NewSouth is the name of the publisher. But some research I’m conducting reveals that there is a quiet movement called the New South that is about rewriting history, reviving the Confederacy and erasing the historical fact of slavery’s existence. Though the publisher does not appear to be connected to this New South movement, and doesn’t appear to have racist intent, it’s hard to ignore a shared revisionist impulse. "
    
    http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/it … _20110106/
    
    Every wonder that they may be erasing the word to change history rather than to avoid offense?

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