This was my brief reply to a friend who asked on January 6, "What are your thoughts about the proposed revisions to Huck Finn?" By then I knew what she was talking about and replied: "I'm against them. Twain's book is an eloquent argument against slavery and the use of the N word is simply an accurate reflection of the language of his time. Any good teacher could deal with any kid's discomfort seeing the word in print." Reading what everybody has said here plus the articles found via the links, I haven't changed my mind. But I deeply appreciate sharing in this adventure. One thing I found enormously illuminating was from the teacher whose analysis of the last part of Huck Finn which I've never liked made me view it differently. Couldn't resist adding my 2 cents. Arianne Laidlaw