The ruining of a classic or a way to attract new readers

Ryan McCullough

N*****. There, I said it. It is a hateful word imbued with lifetimes of oppression. Some say the word should be deleted from each and everyone’s vocabulary. The reasoning being that by using it, we are only keeping alive a word that leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Others say it should be embraced. This can be heard consistently in hip-hop music or in the skits of Dave Chappelle.

I don’t know which side is right. It is not my word to be using.

Though, Mark Twain used the word. In his novel “Huckleberry Finn.”

Though, as every high school student learns, the book is not a racist epitaph but one renouncing the evils of slavery.

The book is being reissued but with one tiny difference. The n-word has been replaced with euphemisms.

Is this the ruining of an American classic or an attempt to make it more palatable?

One part of me says the book should not be changed. When a writer sits down to compose a book, they have a goal.

The writer consciously chooses each and every word to achieve that goal, to express a point. It is the same with Mark Twain and “Huckleberry Finn.”

But then, I sit back and ask myself, “What’s the harm in changing one little word? Especially one as vulgar as the one in question.”

Then, I am reminded of the novel “Hocus Pocus” by Kurt Vonnegut. The main character is a Vietnam War veteran who doesn’t swear. He constantly uses the phrase “when the excrement hit the fan.” The character’s grandfather had always told him, “Cursing only gives some people the right not to listen to what you have to say.”

I completely agree. If you have something to say there is nothing the f-word, the s-word, or whatever vulgar word you can imagine (who even has enough to fingers to count them all?) can add to it.

So, if this “censorship” gets “Huckleberry Finn” into new hands then I am for it.

Though, I still prefer to read a book as the author intended.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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