Pop, Pop, Snip, Snip – Po-litically correct it is… Mark Twain’s venerable American novel is scheduled to go under the knife for a little PC surgery.
According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books plans to release a version of “Huck Finn” that cuts the “n” word and replaces it with “slave.” The slur “injun,” referring to Native Americans, will also be replaced.
A 1st Edition copy of Twain's Huck Finn
How do you feel about that?
I’ve have my own writing tinkered with, and I didn’t always like it. On the other hand, the last time I tried to read Huck Finn, I was decidedly uncomfortable with the language. Although the author was sympathetic to the cause, the language he used was already coming under fire shortly after the book’s publication.
When R-rated movies come on television, I grin during those parts where an expletive is replaced by something G-rated, like “Oh, Drat!” I understand the reasoning for the edit, and it doesn’t ruin the viewing for me. If I want the original, I can Netflix it.
Maybe the same goes for the book. It may well be that the original intent of Mr. Twain can be retained by publisher’s substitution. Some will say that words are only words. Others will point out that the misuse – or ill-advised usage – of certain terms have felled giants.
If one child is bothered by the reading of such terms, it may serve to make the work cosmetically digestable. Better that than having a great book go unread.