That is a very powerful piece of writing. I noticed that a commenter (the comments after Chabon's piece are uncommonly good as well) had offered a link to another powerful opinion, this time from a high school teacher: http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2011/01/high-school-teacher-on-huck-finns.h tml Well worth reading and rereading. -----Original Message----- From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jerry Bandy Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 1:42 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Thank you In the 14 years since I completed an undergrad course on Twain, I've been a steadfast lurker on this list. Only now am I finally compelled to post, even if it is only to post a link to yet another response to the Huck Finn brouhaha. Michael Chabon's response in the Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/the-unspeakable-in-its-ja mmies/69369/ affected me more directly than most other opinions I've read on the subject so far. Like Chabon, I am also a father of two young children with a hearty appetite for books. As in Chabon's anecdote, I know that some day in the ever-nearing future I'll be faced with a similar conflict of how to navigate the n-word and of how to steer my children into the correct contextual current. I know when that moment arrives I will appreciate, even more than I do now, the voices on this list. So in advance, I want to thank you all for your tireless, entertaining, and informative devotion to Twain scholarship. JB