We are all well aware where a road paved with good intentions leads. So it is with Mark Twain scholar and Auburn Montgomery University literature professor Alan Gribben’s revisions of Huckleberry Finn.
Where the original text has over 200 usages of the “n-word,” Gribben’s volume replaces the word with “slave.” He also removed the word “injun.” This has led some scholars to say that it softens Twain’s intention and avoids one of the major issues of the work. There is a lot more to literature than any derogatory phrase that the author may choose to incorporate into the work. Saying that you can completely devoid the book of meaning by making a word substitution is absurd.
Gribben stated his intention is to make the work more accessible in the 21st century and to keep the book from being immediately banned from classrooms preemptively. He is not removing the word as to pretend that it was never there, nor is he hoping to shift the context in which it appeared. He is simply trying to get the book into the hands of students.
This is a technique used in education constantly. We put a lot of effort into making information more approachable for students all the time.
Columbus did not truly discover America. Gravity does not have a complete explanation. Those concepts just serve us well enough in grade and middle school or until such a time as it is best to dive deeper and learn the more subtle facts about whatever it is you might be trying to study. So it is with literature, why shouldn’t teachers have an avenue by which to read and teach a book so richly deserving study without having it mired in social conflict from the very start?
America, as a country and within its communities, colleges and universities included, need to find more time to have real, honest conversations about race. This conversation doesn’t need to happen in elementary and middle schools when some of the nuances of that discussion would likely get lost, nor does it need to happen within the context of a discussion of Huckleberry Finn. This is another fine example of fighting a battle where available and not necessarily where appropriate. Some might say that there is no need to continue having an open dialogue about the “n-word.” I disagree. I feel like race relations in America have never been truly dealt with to the satisfaction of many of the communities involved. Honestly, I’m pretty sure those communities would consider that an understatement.
It makes it seem like the use of that word, filled with hate and contempt, is a thing of the past that should be taught as a history lesson or in a book. The place for that conversation is now, in a current context, where the racism thrives more than many of us let ourselves believe in the day to day. There is nothing wrong with changing the word to something with fewer teeth so that a great piece of literature might find its way into the hands of students who might take it upon themselves to read the original text on their own. We should raise the level of discourse and find the proper context and arena to discuss the rifts we have created amongst ourselves over time as a species and do our best to repair that relationship, not through our children, but for them. If we owe Mr. Twain anything, we owe him that most.
