The NewSouth Books is planning to release Huck Finn by replacing "nigger" with slave and "injun" with something else. Huck Finn, at least from my memory, is a story about a young white male that see's his "house negro" as a mentor and an equal. The N Word, as it is often referred to, is not negative but it depends on the context one uses the word.
Rap and R&B music, more so Rap, fling the N Word like the commoner uses the word "the". By whitewashing classic literature we ruin the message and uniqueness of the our literary history. Why do we allow so much power given to the word? Why is it okay for Rap artist to use the word yet it is obscene in Huck Finn and other literature of that era?
As a society we cannot move forward and discuss race relations if we whitewash the language used. We do need to be respectful but let's not make wholesale changes like being proposed with Huck Finn. I know that many will point to my white privilege to hold my view but let's take a time out and think about it. If we change literally classics, like Huck Finn, where does the censorship or change stop? Do we change the King James Bible to reflect PC terms? Do we change the Torah as well? Do we make sure that Sirah Law is reflected properly as well?
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Kudo's on the topic choice viper.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad day IMO if they censor that book or any other for political correctness. The point of the book, in part, was to illustrate the complexities of interracial relations at that time as a white boy and a black man go on adventures. The language and vernacular that are used were normal in that time. Even some leading black scholars denounced this action saying it removes the value and context of the novel by diluting the authors intent.
In the end, we all lose when we alter a work of art like Huck Finn just so a small minority don't get offended.
Do we next re-chisel the statue "David" by Michaelangelo so people don't see his privates? Seriously, where does this end?
Not only that Truman but if we remove or censor literature for "offensive" language we risk future generations learning that the N Word is defined by Rap and R&B music. Which one is more negative? A common description of black people or the thug life style definition?
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about how the word is defined, I worry about works of art being sanitized because of a false sense of offense. People aren't offended by it unless they don't actually understand the context, meaning and application that the author intended. Just like looking at Michaelangelo's "David" isn't pornographic but if a photo posted on the web to mimic it might be. If people can't differentiate, perhaps they're too stupid to read the book in the first place.
ReplyDeleteHow about instead of censoring, we apply an IQ requirement in order to check it out of the library or buy it?
Truman - careful there, requiring an IQ you may offend the same people that are wanting to whitewash Huck Finn.
ReplyDeleteWell put Viper and I'm glad to see that there is something you and I can agree on! Although the comparison to rap is not totally justified due to the fact that when used in rap by blacks to blacks, the connotation of the word is an entirely different meaning. And, you are correct, white people cannot use the word, as whites are responsible for the actions of slavery and racial discrimination through history that the word represents in the first place. However in regards to changing or editing an historical literary work for the sake of political correctness, I am right there with you.
ReplyDeleteVon Jackson
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that it was competitive tribes that sold their brethren into slavery. Besides slavery is not a white man's institution. Power in the word depends on it's context and not the word itself.
Trouble is our society, as lazy as it has become, allows for the lowest denominator to be the prevailing definition of all words. The origin of N Word is rooted in the French language and Latin to describe the color of a person as being black.
The misuse of the word by a white is not more disrespectful than manner in which Rappers use it in their thug rants.