Read the passage below and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Then “submit” your work.
It is considered a classic of American literature, a truly groundbreaking novel that thumbed its nose at convention when it was published in 1885 and continues to challenge ideas about race, relationships, and language more than a century later.
At a time when slavery was still fresh in American memory, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told the story, in everyday language, of the unlikely relationship between a free-spirited white boy named Huck and a fugitive slave, Jim. Twain authentically constructed Jim and Huck’s conversations, including their use of the “N-word.”
Scholars and critics continue to argue about Twain’s characters, as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often banned or challenged by parents or school boards. One public school administrator called it “racist trash,” saying its use of the N-word is offensive, no matter what the context or how teachers try to explain it (Howard, 2004). Yet others came to the book’s defense, noting Twain’s intention was “to subvert, not reinforce, racism” (Kennedy, 2003). One professor noted that the word must be seen in the context of the times and situation: “What was Twain supposed to do, call them African-Americans?” (Rabinowitz, 1995).
Teachers of American literature often find themselves struggling with self-censorship as they grapple with whether to speak the word aloud in class, since it may cause students to feel hurt and offended. One professor went so far as to create a revised edition of the work, replacing the N-word with the word slave to get students away from obsessing about it and to just let the stories stand alone (Bosman, 2011). But critics accuse the professor and publisher of censorship and sanitizing history. They call changing Twain’s carefully chosen words to suit contemporary mores and eliminate hurt feelings “an abdication of a teacher’s responsibility to illuminate and guide students through an unfamiliar and perhaps difficult text” (Nelson, 2011).