R. Dagnall, I don't understand your post.  It's not like all references to
Jim as "nigger" are *external* to the text itself.

Also, I think that caving in to squeamishness over the "n-word" as a reason
not to teach this book is cowardly.  Better that our skin should crawl
with discomfort than pretend that sanitizing our language of "nigger" would
do one whit to halt the production of "niggers" by our dominant,
institutionaliz
   ed discourses.

michael mcdonald

p.s. Maybe maturity is a factory here. I've only taught *Huck* once, in
college,
and the students handled this problem with great sensitivity.  Of course,
there
were no African-American students in my class, and I imagine that the
presence
of such students might have drastically upped the discomfort level.  While I
do think it would be a shame to stop teaching *Huck*, I see no reason why
this work should be deemed crucial reading for *high school students*.  Does
anyone have thought on *that* distinction?

michael mcdonald