As I read HUCK FINN to my nine year old son, it became apparent to me again about chapter five that the word "nigger" is used frequently in this text. While this word used in the context of the setting of the story and the date of publication (respectively 1830-40 in The American South and 1883), does accurately describe the indigation suffered by a group of people, I have come to the conclusion that if Mark Twain were to tell the same story again today, he wouldn't need so much "ammunition" to prove his point. In fact, in reading to my son, I substituted the word "slave" in for most appearences of the word "nigger." Yes, MT gets some flack TODAY for his observations of the world around him and surely progress does call for much (especially the bad, and the foolish) to be forgtten. I'm wondering if there examples to be cited that show HF (in its day) was instrumental in "raising the conscience" of the public as to the condition of the black man in the South? The author has shined a light on the evil within human nature. So in remembering, we commit ourselves to opposing those same pitfalls today. Ted Magnuson Portland, Oregon USA