The study of other cultures cannot compensate for a lack of thorough familiarity with the founding principles of one’s own culture. Just as it would be a failure to encounter an educated Chinese who had never heard of Confucius, however well versed he may be in Jefferson, so also it would be a failure of liberal education to teach Americans about the Far East without immersing them in their own philosophical and literary tradition... (D’Souza, 418)
What this quote says is that, by not teaching Americans the true history of our nation would be an act of ignorance. What good is an American citizen who does not know the true harshness and acts of cruelty that made our country into what it is today? People continue to read classic stories like these to this day because of their uniqueness, distinct style of writing, and life lessons that will carry with you. By ignoring the true words used, you lose the intensity of what life was really like back then and how much it has changed. I agree that “nigger” is not a nice word, but, at that time, whites were no where near nice to the people the word was referred to. In order for kids to get the whole picture of what life was like and get complete understanding of it, it is necessary for them to be acquainted with all the aspects to a certain degree. By changing the slang words, you are some what changing the way people look at history. The comic below brings a good point to the surface. That is, if they change one story to make it more friendly, how many more will they change until they are satisfied? What will people perceive our history as by reading these “new and improved” books? The word “nigger” may be indecent, but in the 1800’s when this book was written, the things going on were exactly that, indecent and vulgar. The black race may no longer be discriminated against, but for a long while they were, and just because they don’t exactly appreciate the discrimination, does not mean that they can erase it from history. By leaving the “N” word in the book, Americans would be constantly reminded of all of the hardships that not only the blacks, but every race at one point or another, had to overcome in order to make our country what it is today.
Works Cited
Bors, Matt. Cartoon. mattbors.com. N.p., 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
D’Souza, Dinesh. “Equality and the Classics.” The Well Crafted Argument. Eds. Fred D. White and Simone J. Billings. Boston, MA. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 417-420. Print.
Uba, George. “Removing N-Word ruins ‘Huckleberry Finn’.” the-signal. 22 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
Cited: Bors, Matt. Cartoon. mattbors.com. N.p., 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. D’Souza, Dinesh. “Equality and the Classics.” The Well Crafted Argument. Eds. Fred D. White and Simone J. Billings. Boston, MA. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 417-420. Print. Uba, George. “Removing N-Word ruins ‘Huckleberry Finn’.” the-signal. 22 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.