Context Is Key

I recently read an article in Publishers Weekly about a professor who is "updating" The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventure of Tom Sawyer by replacing the now culturally offensive "nigger" with the more politically correct word "slave."  Alan Gribben is replacing the n-word in attempt to make the books more accessible and teachable in the 21st century classroom.  Gribben is working with the NEA's Big Read initiative in Alabama. 

While I commend Gribben's efforts for trying to make these masterpieces more suitable for today's classrooms, I cannot help but be ashamed for our society.  We are raising a bunch of weak-minded children who cannot tolerate even learning, let alone questioning, the social conventions of yesteryear.  I read The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn in high school.  I felt uncomfortable every time I read the word "nigger," but my American Literature teacher took the time to explain to me and the class that in the historical context of the book, the n-word wasn't wrong.  It was part of the culture, socially acceptable.  That didn't mean she was advocating our use of it now or ever.  Instead she was opening our eyes to how America was and allowing us to see into a part of history that has helped us become the country we are today.  By glossing over issues like slavery and making books politically correct, we are taking away the importance of the issues being discussed in books like Huckleberry Finn.  Keeping the word "nigger" in the books opens up the opportunity to discuss the power of words -- the abuse thereof, how words came to have the connotations they do now, ways we can combat negative uses, etc.

Several of the teachers Gribben spoke to said they felt they couldn't teach Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer in the 21st century classroom.  Why?  Is it because today's children have been raised to believe that anything that doesn't fit the politically correct social mold we've created is offensive?  I find that ironic because these are the same kids who will call each other "slut," "whore," and "fag" without any thought.  I hear children and adult alike using the phrase, "That's gay." as a substitute for "That's stupid."  Why isn't anyone making a bigger deal about that?  Homosexuals have feelings too, and they do take offense when someone synonymously interchanges homosexuality with stupidity.  I used to be one of those kids who inappropriately used the word gay until my freshman year of college when a classmate, who later became one of my best friends, explained how offensive it was to him when I negatively connotated his lifestyle.  From that day on I never used gay to mean stupid.  All it took was someone pointing out how my words affect other people for me to change my ways.  I am not saying it's going to be the same way for everyone, but talking about it will help.  In 125 years are people going to change gay in every book?  By changing nigger to slave in Mark Twain's novels, we are giving the n-word more power, reinforcing its negative meanings.  If we ever want to progress as a nation we need to look at our history and question it, not rewrite it.