SamCasey
I am a senior in high school in AP English. Earlier this year our class read Huck Finn, and I found it very profound, as well as an entertaining read. I believe that taking “the N word” out of this book greatly lessens the impact and the meaning of the work. It helps not only to create an ACCURATE... more
I am a senior in high school in AP English. Earlier this year our class read Huck Finn, and I found it very profound, as well as an entertaining read. I believe that taking “the N word” out of this book greatly lessens the impact and the meaning of the work. It helps not only to create an ACCURATE depiction of the time period, but also because of the way Twain uses the word, rather than being there to offend, it is used to show that racism is wrong. To take out the word, whether offensive or not, destroys the significance it carries in the work and changes the impact of the entire story. In the beginning of the novel Huck often uses this word to refer to Jim, because that is how he was referred to in the South during this time period. However, as the novel progresses, Huck begins to see him as an equal and a friend, rather than some lesser human being. He stops using the word when he realizes that it is truly offensive and he learns how to judge people based on character rather than color. To change the word devalues the lesson learned by Huck that Twain wanted to send to the masses.

ArrowofThyme
I come from the South where conservatives complain about the country being too "PC" and yet they won't let you open this book in any of the high schools because of the n-word. If the choice is an edited version or nothing, maybe this is the way to go.