Sometime in the long distant past, my teenage years, to be exact, I read Huck for the first time, a sanitized version like the one which is the subject of this discussion. Years later, I read the real thing, and I still recall the feeling of disgust, even anger, at being cheated of the raw force of the banality of racism in Twain's original. I realize Huck will always be a difficult book to teach, but putting another gutted version out for consumption by a new generation of readers, shielding them from the full force of the entrenched racism Twain meant to convey, is certainly not the answer. Just another form of "evasion," I think Twain and his mission are slighted, if not trivialized, by this form of deception. Also, it still grates to see the article "The" in the title, the difference between the "lightning" and the "lightning bug."
And, in case it's not apparent, this is only my idle opinion, worth what you've paid for it, and not meant to be a personal criticism of anyone participating in this discussion or this valuable, vital forum, for that matter.
Martin Zehr
Kansas City, Missouri
--- On Tue, 1/4/11, Jocelyn Chadwick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Jocelyn Chadwick <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: a new Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 2:09 PM
Given the re-emergence of racial rhetoric from a variety of interesting =
venues--Congress, Arizona, South Carolina, for example, it would seem to =
me Twain's novel is a greater must-read than ever before WITH all of the =
original language. I understand Alan's perspective, but I also realize =
that we have entered into a phase where folks attending a secession ball =
in South Carolina are lamenting the loss of their ancestors' lifestyles; =
where my home state of Texas has determined students have read enough =
history about Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, women, and =
any sort of difference; where the out-going Superintendent of AZ, Tom =
Horne (who will also now become AZ's Attorney General), has declared =
all ethnic studies to be illegal: =20
HB 2281
The law bans K-12 classes that:
Promote the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
Are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group.
Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of students as =
individuals.
"It becomes the duty of the people of Arizona, through their elected =
leaders . . . to put a stop to this, and to be sure that taxpayer-funded =
public schools teach students to treat each other as individuals, and =
not on the basis of the race they happen to have been born into," Horne =
wrote.
The language in "Huck" was, is, and will always be offensive and =
uncomfortable; it should be; it must be,until we "get it." Just my =
thoughts. =20
Jocelyn
On Jan 4, 2011, at 2:38 PM, Lawrence Howe wrote:
> I'm wondering if Alan is on-list and would like to clarify anything. =
=3DA0I'm=3D
> particularly curious about how he handles the scene in which pap rails =
abo=3D
> ut the educated 'nigger' that inspires his wrath against the gov'ment. =
=3DA0T=3D
> his particular black man is not a slave, but free. =3DA0So what word =
does thi=3D
> s new text use to describe him?
> Thanks for calling this to our attention, Michael. =3DA0The responses =
on the =3D
> original posting were illuminating. =3DA0I'm heartened to see so many =
people =3D
> take words, and even this one word, so seriously.=3DA0
> --LH
>=20
> --- On Tue, 1/4/11, Mark Woodhouse <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>=20
> From: Mark Woodhouse <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: a new Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 1:05 PM
>=20
> Good lord.
>=20
> I didn't know Alan was doing this but I guess it doesn't surprise me. =
It
> generates a lot of talk though doesn't it? Seems like it would make a =
good
> classroom discussion.
> (Although, I tried to get my CORE class to discuss the violence over =
the
> Danish cartoons of Muhammed and I got a lot of shrugging - like, =
what's the
> big deal? So maybe I'm not a judge of what makes for a good classroom
> discussion. It seemed like Worlds Colliding to me.)
>=20
> I tried to look at all the comments to see if we knew anyone but I ran =
out
> of steam.
>=20
> On purely aesthetic grounds the thought of this sort of thing makes me
> cringe. I can hear the dialogue in my head and I know I'd be mumbling =
and
> swearing to myself as I went along, mentally re-inserting the =
original.
>=20
>=20
>=20
> On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 1:28 PM, Michael Kiskis <[log in to unmask]> =
wrote:
>=20
>> A former student sent me this link to a story about a new edition of =
Huck
>> --
>> to be edited by Alan Gribben.=3DA0 If you read the story, scroll down =
to re=3D
> ad
>> the variety of comments.
>>=20
>>=20
>> =
http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/?=3D=
> hpt=3D3DT2
>>=20
>> --
>> Michael J. Kiskis
>> Leonard Tydings Grant Professor of American Literature
>> Elmira College
>> One Park Place
>> Elmira, NY=3DA0 14901
>>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=3D20
> Mark Woodhouse
> Head of Technical Services
> College and Mark Twain Archivist
> Elmira College
> One Park Place
> Elmira NY 14901
> 607 735 1869
|
