Dear Deirdre, Do you feel that the requirement for teaching Huck. Finn is a dinosaur in view of its relevancy and current affairs? I'm as much a fan of Twain as anyone, but I must admit that the "n-word" (useful euphemism, there) is so emotionally charged that it bothers me in any context, surely not the same effect that it had when Twain was writing. I would never mean to advocate censorship of any form, but I question the repeated use of a book which is, after all, rather dated in its analysis of American racial problems. While that's certainly not all there is to the novel (which is damn funny to boot), I can understand the reservations of many modern readers. Perhaps this book needs to be required less often and in place one of Twain's other fine works could be studied. Daven