Folks; as most will have understood but as apparently a few are misconstruing (as communicated in private notes), I am certainly not arguing that Twain did not approve of, or use, the term "nigger." Yes, it turns up regularly in his correspondence, journals, and so on. And of course, he also used "nigger" over 200 times in Huck Finn. I was not questioning that, although the concept of his "approval" is difficult to understand. I would say, at the very least, that he appeared to be quite comfortable with the term, since it shows up in many other works besides HF, like PW. So first off, to be clear, yes, I was aware of the fact that he uses the "N" word. I was talking about the name "Nigger Jim"--which he does not use in the novel. I was unaware of what Barb is pointing out--that it turns up in interviews of 1884. Her point that his use of the term "Nigger Jim" is still disputable, given the nature of the interviews, is worth making. Maybe Gary Scharnhorst can give us some insight into that one--Twain's use of "Nigger Jim" in interviews. I suppose we can give those transcribers the benefit of the doubt, however, especially if it shows up in several different places. Ironically I mentioned any of this, simply to try and alleviate the storm of protest and vitriol that bringing up this topic would initiate--especially since, as I mention, this is pretty well plowed ground for those of us who have been on here a few years. Harold K. Bush, Ph.D Saint Louis University