Posted on 01/03/2011 7:16:53 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
A PUBLISHER is planning to release a new edition of two of Mark Twain's classic novels that replaces the racial slurs used throughout the books with less offensive language.
NewSouth Books will release a single volume containing both novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, overseen by Twain scholar Alan Gribben, Publisher's Weekly said. In both, the n-word is replaced with the word "slave" and the word "Injun" is removed.
"This is not an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colourblind," said Mr Gribben, the head of the English department at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama. "Race matters in these books. It's a matter of how you express that in the 21st century."
The n-word appears 219 times in the current edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, including the table of contents. The racially-charged language has resulted in the book being banned from many grade school curricula and libraries over the decades despite its status as a classic of American literature.
Mr Gribben said he was inspired by speaking with teachers who were disappointed that the language in the book prevented them from teaching it.
They said 'we would love to teach [Tom Sawyer] and Huckleberry Finn, but we feel we can't do it anymore.' In the new classroom, it's really not acceptable," he said. "For a single word to form a barrier, it seems such an unnecessary state of affairs."
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
“It was a powerful and influential book and to change the language is to destroy Twain’s work. “
Or change Twain’s work.
Hmm, maybe to help keep the Democrat Plantation delivering reliable votes? In precincts with 99 or even 105% turnout, all Dem?
They’re not “wonderful stories”. They are great American literature, and really way too complex to be taught to kids. They’re for the advanced Enlgish class of senior year high school, or college.
Probably ramp it up to have Shylock cutting pounds of flesh from poor Palestinians while Othello pleads for more money from the EU. ;~((
New version: Jim, you are one worthless Obama!
Change we can believe in.
The last third is the best part.
E x a c t l y.
This nonsense is why we’ll never see “Song of the South” freed from Disney’s vaults. Or, worse yet, they’ll go back and “remaster” it. It was locked up before I got a chance to see it.
In order to reclaim bits of my childhood I couldn’t quite remember, I purchased all the Astro Boy manga released and translated by Dark Horse. At the front of each volume is a well-written and respectful disclaimer regarding themes that may be offensive to some for racial reasons, but everything was kept intact. I couldn’t have been more grateful. It gave the series a historical depth and insight that would have been missing if the themes had been sanitized. And there were even a few anti- white and/ or American, which wouldn’t have been out of place just after WWII.
Just think of all the wartime cartoons you don’t see anymore...but I suppose that’s better than having them mangled by the PC Police.
Y E S.
Old friend of ours who is a Mark Twin expert.
http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060518/cross.shtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erxHUArUbgI&feature=related
Sorry.....^Twain^
Oh please don’t say that. It’s 2/3 high speed adventure and 1/3 lame scheming.
“Just think of all the wartime cartoons you dont see anymore”
Popeye fighting the Japanese and Superman fighting the Germans (while eating spinach in the face of rationed meat). Never to be seen again, along with all the Westerns that showed that individuals could live using their own morals without a strong Central Government.
And all the wartime stuff Bernays and the proto-Disney cartoonists put out.
Down the memory hole.
And Song of the South? You are correct, never. Elmer Fudd? Speedy Gonzales? Probably even Mr Magoo!
Fuzzy headed ninnymuggins....
It figures this guy would be a Barner.
RTR.
"Hey, Pancho!" "Hey, Cisco!"
Hmm...yeah, that'll be about 12 pages long.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.