What's your take on the N word in Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

I'm reading the complete works of Twain (one of my all time heroes) and I just hit Tom Sawyer last night. I haven't read it in at least a decade. What do you think?

[Gormy Cuss]

1. That it was used in a different era, with different viewpoints

and reading it is a good reminder of how far we have come since then and how far we still have to go.

[HEyHEY]

2. What do I think? I think you and your buddy Sam are a couple of biggots!

[NNadir]

3. Given that Huck Finn was one of the first major works to question racism

openly, not too bad.

For my money, "You don't know me..." has to rank with one of the greatest opening words in American Literature.

We still don't know, but Huck starting telling us who we are.

[Aristus]

4. The N-word was used differently back then.

Back then, when you used it, you were speaking referentially. Colloquially, too, since Negro was the common accepted term.

Nowadays if you use the term, you are staking out a position on the issues of racism and equality. It is an inflammatory term, and when people use it in conversation, they are not being ignorant or inarticulate; they are being hateful and provocative.

[skygazer]

5. Twain's characters spoke as people then spoke

And his use of the word, particularly in Huck Finn, was designed to repeatedly slap you in the face with the absurdity and unfairness of the racism it represented. Those who insist the book should be banned because of the use of that word have never read and understood what the book was trying to say. Hell, Jim was the only truly noble character in the thing.

I love Twain. He was wonderful at pointing out the absurdity of the human race in a way that allowed us to chuckle at ourselves.... and then think deeply.

[liberalitch]

6. Twain wrote these books in a day when many in dixie.....

longed for the south to rise again (There are some here who still do).
I think that he uses it for two reasons:
A) Because that is the way that it WAS used and
B) In an attempt to intentionally shock those southerners who were "moving on" into NOT allowing those stuck in the past to romanticize the antebellum and, more importantly, slavery

[GumboYaYa]

7. Words are just symbols to convey meaning, what matters is the

meaning, not the word. Twain ceratinly used the word to convey the message that slavery and racism are wrong. He did it in the context of the language used in his era. I have no problem with it used that way.

[EstimatedProphet]

8. My take is that it was part of the language then

Not like it is now. Might as well condemn people for being racist-it wasn't their fault, because they were trapped within a specific mindset. Now however, it's inexcusable.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Keep it in! Anyone who would edit it out is a goddamn fool.

I, too, just started re-reading some Twain, starting with Huck Finn! I haven't read any in about twenty-five years.

And I have to admit, I'm surprised how much the word is in the book - I read it a number of times throughout school, and I don't remember there being anywhere near that many. But then, back in that time, I wasn't as aware of the word, either, so I likely just glossed over it most times.

I'm aloso surprised at how much of the book I'd forgotten. It's like I never read the damn thing - most of it seems new. But then, that's the way I am with fiction. No matter how many times I read a book, it's pretty much always like the first time... sad, but true.

[mvd]

11. Right now, there would be NO excuse

But Twain's books are cultural and also educational. It's not a book of a racist. So keeping it as is seems reasonable.

[anarch]

10. what's your take on a college class, reading some book that

contains the N-word to some extent, and there being a sort of unspoken rule that the word must not be spoken aloud, when reading passages from the books? Even though the words are clearly printed on the page? Much as we now use the placeholder, "N-word", instead of typing the actual N-word? I think it's kind of weird.

[jobycom]

12. Depends on what you're asking.

If you're asking if Mark Twain was wrong for using the word, obviously not. The word had a negative connotation then, but not quite the same as it has now. The book's purpose is obviously to fight stereotypes and racism, not further them.

If you're asking whether it's uncomfortable reading the word now, it definitely is. I and my 13 year old daughter listened to it on audiobook recently on a long drive. I was a bit startled by how much the word was used. I went ahead and listened, anyway. My daughter is mature enough to understand what the book is doing, and it... well, I had parental reasons for it.

If you're asking whether the book should be read in high school or junior high these days, I'd say no. It definitely teaches a lot of lessons--about racism, about the history of racism, about excellent writing. But the word just makes it inappropriate. A young black student hearing the tone of the book in a class would feel too uncomfortable, and it wouldn't be easy for many white students to handle, either. Some would be upset, some would think it was an excuse to use the word themselves. It's just not constructive. There's a lot of great literature out there to read instead. Put it on a "Suggested Reading" list, maybe, or read it in college, but not in high school.

My two cents. Probably wrong, as always.