Does anyone have the right to change an author's words?

[Marcia Mayne]

The release this week of a new, sanitized edition of Mark Twain’s, Huckleberry Finn, which substitutes the contentious N-word for the less problematic, slave, disturbs me. While I understand the emotional charge of the N-word, I wonder if anyone has the right to change an author’s words no matter how offensive they might be. I can’t remember this happening before.  Do you? Do we, does anyone (besides the author) have that right?  

[Marcia Mayne]

LOL, very funny. Thanks for sharing.

Marcia

[Marcia Mayne]

Lyn, yes, a label or notice would definitely a good idea.

 

Marcia

[Marcia Mayne]

Thanks, Book Calendar. Just last night my niece and I had the same conversation about Native Americans and blacks. She always felt that the history she was taught in school was incomplete and incorrect and began doing her own research.

[Lisa Almeda Sumner]

Marcia, I am so with you on this topic.  Much as I despise the casual use the the offensive epithet (especially by those who seem to enjoy it a little too much, and these kind of discussions can trigger that impulse), I say let the word stand in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  It's time we really had some honest conversations about the discomfort caused by the word, and why Twain chose to include it so frequently in his novel.  And anyway, the word substituted by New South is "slave", which is in no way a synonym.  Now, if you ask my students what the "n-word" means, most of them have been instructed by their parents that it means "an ignorant person."  And one can argue that the character of Jim is far from ignorant.  But in the end, whether the reader thinks the use of the n-word is justified or not, I don't think changing Twain's words is justified.  Thanks for introducing this topic.

[Marcia Mayne]

You're welcome, Lisa. Thanks for your comments.

No, slave is definitely not a synonym and thus shifts the significance of the n-word. To me, that makes it even more offensive. Btw, how old are your students? 

 

Marcia

[Lisa Almeda Sumner]

I teach high school.  My students are from fifteen on up (some are "over-age" for their grade).  We just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird in a class where the majority of the students are African American or Hispanic, and the use of the "N-word" (much less frequent than in Huck Finn) was a non-issue.  We discussed creating a film version of a scene or scenes from Mockingbird and one student said "We have too many black people in this class for that," which I thought was funny and astute, as it points out how Mockingbird is still so much from the white characters' point-of-view.  We are going to do it anyway;)

[ManOfLaBook.com]

That's what I was saying the whole time, the people who will read Huck Finn are not kids but young adults.

 

The issue, in my opinion, is not the changing of the text but the systematic avoidance of an uncomfortable conversation.

[Stephen Lawrence Brayton]

This is the dumbest thing. A sanitized version of Finn? So people won't be offended. What has happened to this country that we are now changing books so as not offend someone? Fine, can I get a copy of the Koran with certain phrases removed? How about the Bible? Maybe we need to rewrite the Constitution because that document offends a lot of people. I can find somethign offensive in every book I read. I can find something offensive in every television and movie I watch. But guess what? I don't have the right not to be offended. I'm offended that this happened. But why do I have to capitulate to the few stupid enough to have shoutest the loudest?

[Lyn Fuchs]

There was a book published just last month called Sacred Ground & Holy Water that contains the N word twice. This word is highly offensive and was used by the author to offend. I know because I'm the author. I agree with the conclusion western society came to that people have the right to believe and even say stupid offensive things, because the alternative loss of free speech hurts us all more. So, if Barack Obama wished to take his kids to a church where racist things were publicly proclaimed in order to get more votes, he sadly has the right. But as for me, I wouldn't go to a KKK meeting if Penelope Cruz invited me. But those Klan losers have the right to say their loser nonsense in the woods up till they start burning stuff or pushing people. Then we arrest 'em. Hitler's idiotic Mein Kampf has a right to exist, his later actions did not. So, Mark Twain not only has the right to his offensive words for good reasons, he had the right to say ugly offensive words for bad reasons. As my Mexican sweetheart says to me, "Toughen up gringo, or Osama bin Laden's gonna kick your ass." In the words of Malcom X, we must defend both human and speech rights "by whatever means necessary."

[Marcia Mayne]

 

Now, Lyn, why did you have to go and do that?

 

 

 

[Lyn Fuchs]

Marcia,

I hate to disappoint an intelligent and elegant lady. If it was my crude aggressive language, I'm sorry about that; getting men to read spiritual, literary books isn't easy unless you add a lot of spice. If it was my cynical take on the current politico, does it help if I balance the attack by mentioning that the last guy couldn't find anything better to do with his spoiled millionaire life for years than drink. Sorry, I think Twain had a lot more integrity than most politicians. Please forgive whichever of my many sins caught your attention. 

Lyn  

[Marcia Mayne]

 

LOL, no not disappointed at all! I'm not that easily offended. 

Crude and aggressive has it's place and if it gets men to read spiritual/literary works, I'm all for it. I run a book club and we always try to attract male readers. Over the years, we've had one guy join and he came to exactly one meeting. 

 

Sounds like your book is something I'd like to read - I've ordered it from Amazon. My dream is to one day ditch my 'safe' life and travel, not to the areas on a tourist map but to the places that teach me something about myself. Looking forward to reading it. 

Marcia