The American Favorite

Hannah Ericksen
Mrs. Piehler
Honors English 3
Friday, September 5th, 2013
The American Favorite
Mark Twain uses the “N” word through out his novel, although very controversial, it distinguishes the time period and how awful African Americans were treated in the 1800’s. Many have argued, since the book was published, that the term nigger should be eliminated from all the books and replaced with “slave”. On the flip side, some believe that the word is very essential to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a whole.
Martha T. Moore from USA TODAY writes about the many different views from the people about the “N” word. In her article Lindsey Franklin states, “The word is hardly new to high school students… They use it in the hallways. They hear it in music. They hear it all over the place.” Which is a completely true statement, many high school students don’t feel violated or hurt when people use the “N” word. It has been practiced so much it’s only a shock to the ears of the older generations. Gribben essentially says that there is no good reason for the word and should be replaced with “slave”. The title, ‘Huck Finn’ navigating choppy waters, of this article thoroughly explains how hard it is to choose which opinion should be pursued. Loorie Moore gives her full opinion on the word choice through out the book by saying “The remedy is to refuse to teach this novel in high school and to wait until college – where it can be put in proper context.” She believes you shouldn’t take out nigger but you also shouldn’t let high school kids read it. Taking her ideas she believes you should Send Huck Finn to College as her title addresses, and leave easier things for high school kids to read with less explicit words and more understanding.
Don’t Censor Mark Twains N Word is very opinionated article where Leonard Pitt believes “… it is never a good idea to sugarcoat the past. The past is what it is, immutable and non-negotiable. Even a cursory glance at the historical record will show that Twain’s use of the reprehensible word was an accurate reflection of that era.” Basically saying we shouldn’t change the book to make it sound better than it actually was because that’s the truth. African Americans got treated awfully and that still needs to be in history, so we don’t repeat the past. Leonard also has similar views as Lindsey Franklin had by mocking Gribbens story about his daughter’s best friend being African American and not being able to read the book. Leonard says, “I mean, has the black girl Gribben mentions never heard of Chris Rock or Snoop Dogg?” Referring to the amount of time the “N” word comes out in those specific artists.
Even though there are so many opinions on the word choice in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I completely agree with the article; Don’t Censor Mark Twains N Word because I believe the “N” word explains all the background information of the book, such as the setting and time period. It also puts you in the characters shoes, like you are there with them, going through exactly what they were going through. When Leonard says, “…it is emphatically not free to substitute its own.” Saying you can’t just substitute anything, it has a reason or it would not be in the book. Mark Twain put the “N” word in the book for a reason and who are we to demand it to be replaced. In the book Huck starts to have this connection with Jim after he gets the letter that says “your runaway nigger Jim is down here two mile below Pikesville and Mr. Phelps has got him and he will give him up for the reward if you send.” Huck figures out that Jim is way more that just a “nigger”, he’s his friend as well. Despite the countless opinions, Huckleberry Finn will always be an American favorite.