Since I am not a scholar, just a lover of Twain, I find this symantic debate somewhat ludicrous. The fact of whether Twain wrote "the nigger Jim" instead the misassumed "Nigger Jim" does not prove whether Twain was a racist or not. I do not believe he was a racist; however, if I did, this exchange of dialogue would do nothing to change my mind. Someone could just as foolishly argue that he was saying "the nigger Jim" to distinguish from a possible white Jim. Nick Huiffman, Just a lowly English teacher ----------------------------------------------------- This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses Automatic GroupWise signature added by GWAVASIG ----------------------------------------------------- <<<<gwavasig>>>>