The issue of censorship over the word “nigger” in Huck Finn is a controversial subject that has a lot of answers. A lot of people have a lot of different, conflicting opinions on this issue. Let’s expose everything on the topic. Feel free to comment and state your own thoughts on the matter, take a stand. It’s good to hear different viewpoints and perspectives to gain newer revelations and deeper understandings of where people come from to appreciate where other people are coming from. Respecting other people’s opinions is also key.
We all have voices and it’s good to speak out so here’s my take on the matter; I believe in high school and above the uncensored version of Huck Finn should be kept in the school’s curriculum. Anything below high school they should replace nigger with the word “slave,” or have students read the censored version because kids (some, at least) in middle school wouldn’t be able to handle the N word in a mature manner and changing the word to slave would help them see Jim (and other black people in general) in the proper light. People in middle school also don’t even have a proper understanding of the N word. They only hold the stereotypical view of it. Most middle schoolers don’t even know what it means so for them to read the word, it would completely blow their minds and a lot of them wouldn’t know how to handle it properly. It’s sad to say that most middle schoolers wouldn’t be able to comprehend it on a mature level. Their concept of race is another problem where they might have never been exposed to ideas of racism so they might be put in situations where they could possibly offend people and it could get out of hand. Parents also wouldn’t like their kids reading the n word either. Ha-ha.
But I see no problem with using the original version of Huck Finn in high school. To be honest, high schoolers hear the word nigger all the time in rap music that they listen to, courtesy of artists such as lil wayne, drake, wiz khalifa, rick ross, etc. It’s not like they haven’t been exposed to the word and don’t understand the concept of it, they get it. Maturity on the subject might be an issue for the freshman, ha-ha. By high school I believe kids should be exposed to the implications the word has on race and its context in Huck Finn should be talked about in high school so that they are aware of historical and modern day racial boundaries to shape and mold their brain towards wisdom and enlightenment.
Now here’s my opinion about the use of the n word in Huck Finn; this book was written a long time ago and at the time that it was written this word was common to say and widely accepted. Times were different back then. To get a proper understanding of history reading the original version puts America into the spotlight. The book gave me a deeper understanding of what the olden slavery times were like and how people talked and carried conversation was cool.
In Huck Finn, hearing the word “nigger” so many times in the text made me get used to hearing it by the end of the book. But hearing it at first, it sounded so derogatory and bad. My thoughts were…wow, people back in the day had a right to call someone their nigger because they were their slave but to call someone that now is so derogatory it’s such an insult, it was hard for my brain to comprehend it NOT as an insult but as normal part of conversation. Cussing becomes normal part of conversation if you’re on a boat of sailors or around people who swear and after hearing it so many times in Huck Finn, I just became used to reading it. But this was the only thing that got to me; Jim became closer to Huck than anyone he had ever met. Jim and Huck were true friends that loved each other. How can you call someone you love a nigger? If I were Huck I would call Jim buddy, pal, or friend, something more cheerful. I could never call anyone a nigger.
But it’s crazy that in Black culture it’s almost acceptable now to call a friend a “nigger” and people address each other like, “what up nigga?” But if a white person were to try and say that to a Black person he would get shot. “Nigger” nowadays has a different meaning. Nigger used to mean slave but now it means something to the effect of homie or pal and is used by rappers to sound gangster or thuggish and is associated with people that are in the ghetto and talk ghetto or talk Black. People have even come up with a word for someone who is white who tries to act Black: wigga. Ha-ha! But I find it strange that Huck could call Jim a nigger and it was acceptable. Jim served Huck loyally as a friend and Huck still called him that, I would think he would call him something more friendly like J, Jimmy, bud, buddy, pal, dude, bro. Almost every time I heard Huck call him a nigger or think in his thoughts about Jim as “his nigger,” I thought he was putting him in his place but instead it would be like you calling someone, “doctor,” that’s a real doctor. I wonder when calling someone a nigger started to be hated and unacceptable?
As a white person reading the word nigger and seeing how even Huck and Jim were friends and stood for racial integration, the way nigger was used throughout the novel made me ashamed of our American roots. History of slavery in America is a blind spot that often gets looked over. But exposing the culture of the time period and seeing how people actually talked put a fire in my soul for us to stand for racial integration and speak out against people using the N word now. Therefore I believe the n word should be exposed for what it truly is in high school and beyond so people can unite in love and unity between races, merging white’s and black’s into a place where issues can be talked and dealt with on a real level so people can live righteously, holy, and blameless lives. Never offending but defending the pure hearted souls that never offend people but encourage with love and unity.
I think drawing the line at high school of whether Huckleberry Finn should be censored is an interesting line to draw. On the whole, I'm not sure how I feel about censorship. I think "slave" may be an okay replacement, but I would push back against your assertion that it would help to see "Jim in the proper light." Being a slave, like the n-word, is dehumanizing and derogatory. While that is the connotative point throughout the book, I think it is important that while this book is taught in schools that students (and everyone) learns to think of Jim as more than a nigger or slave, but as a human being. If we can dehumanize people in literature it is not too far of a jump to dehumanize them in real life, too.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post gave me a lot to think about. You had a good point in your section about people using the "n" word in music and regular speech today (within the black culture). I knew a group of middle school kids who were Latino and they would often say "What up, nigga" when they talked to each other. It has become, in many cases, an almost casual greeting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we should educate high school students about what that word really means, and the history behind it. It was a sad and bitter part of American history and I have a feeling that I LOT of kids have no idea about the origins of a word they use so casually.
Smith clarified a lot of my own thoughts on this issue today in class - I agree that language should never be used to offend other people as a rule, but as an art it takes on some different characteristics. Sometimes it takes the use of harsh language because you want people to feel offended, or to react to a character in a specific way. But there is a really, really blurry line between the necessary and the unnecessary that's really hard to draw...
ReplyDeleteBut what Smith said - that there is a purpose in pain and the the sanitation of language all too often removes meaning as well - is something to be seriously considered. To hear the word "nigger" in the classroom SHOULD generate feelings of disquiet on both sides - should make students wonder why it's there, to remind them of the history behind it. It should generate discussion and introspection...
But all too often human nature doesn't allow for that sort of thing. I think we're all aware of what kind of cruelty we're capable of, even at fifteen. So, and I'm a bit frustrated by this, the jury is still out for me on this question.
I think it is interesting that you note that by the end of the book, the word no longer had as strong of an effect on you. This is one aspect of the teaching controversy that I have been thinking about recently. It is often true that "familiarity breeds contempt." I wonder if reading Huckleberry Finn, with its 213 uses of this word, would not tend to desensitize students to the grave impact of using such a derogatory term. As you mentioned, it is frequently spoken in some forms popular music, which is a tragedy. However, Huckleberry Finn could potentially add to the problem, especially for students who do not listen to those types of music.
ReplyDelete"familiarity breeds contempt."
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point Kelley, and Bercovitch makes an interesting point that the over-use of the word may be intentional - make it sound like it's just part of vernacular, let the readers become desensitized or even let them feel that they're supposed to be desensitized, until they 're-cognize' and realize just what it is they've been desensitized to. Bercovitch says that's the intention, you say that it's part of the problem. Clearly there's truth in both - which makes me wonder if Twain was successful in his "deadpan" humor as far as this work goes; or did overestimate the "smarts," or perhaps the cynicism, of his readers and their ability to figure out what was going on?
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ReplyDeleteI think something that relates to this (and to Smith's discussion in class) was how ultimately when emotions are involved, it does not quite matter what society says is the correct thing to do. If it offends somebody, it is probably best left unsaid.
ReplyDeleteThe whole issue of how the n-word is used today in mediums like rap is also interesting. I think if a black person says the n-word it is different than a white person saying the n-word (as you pointed out). I've sensed that it is almost a unifying factor between blacks to call each other that title. I don't know this for certain obviously, but I think there is the feeling that their ethnicity has been through hell before , and so it is almost an act of defiance to say it: if whites wanted to call us "niggers" then we'll be called "niggers." All this to say that it is who says the word that decides how it is intended to come across. Hearing the n-word in a documentary about slavery, for example, would be far less offensive than someone calling somebody the n-word out of anger or something like that.
Words themselves are not intrinsically evil, just their usage.
Anyway, I don't know if that makes sense, but that is one thought about it.
Huck is also very conflicted by the society he is a part of. So for him to use the n-word is perhaps a bit of a sticking to his original societal setting (interacting with Mrs. Watson, for example, or just the era that he lived in). There are all these attitudes that he has ingrained into his very way of thinking. So in a way, I think he still says the n-word because he has not completely made that detachment from society (and does he ever?) that he seems to want. Although that argument is also much more complex than I can lend to in a comment :)
Christie, I agree. I think the history of slavery in America gives us tons to not only think about, but to also teach on. I think Huck Finn should be taught, censored or not because it gives us a glimpse into slavery back then. I think if teachers taught Huck Finn alongside a real historical book on slavery, kids would begin to learn the history and stories of slavery in America.
ReplyDeleteI really like the point you made about how the "N" term is more of a pal or homie reference rather than a negative term. I do feel in this book that term is more representing the culture they lived in at the time, it may not be an appropriate term but at the time it is what they called their slaves. That is not me saying that it is an okay term but in their society it is the term they used.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked your observation about how we notice at first the use of the "N" word but then we get used to it and don't care as much later on.
In regards to your last paragraph, I agree, but it seems like that is an impossible standard to live up to. As much as we want to live pure, blameless, unified lives with every culture it has yet to happen. When there are huge rifts due to unjust treatment it takes more than just the idea of love and unity. Sometimes words cannot fix it no matter how hard we want to. Though just to be clear, I do wish that we could all live in unity and I think it is a great goal to strive for.
As others have mentioned, it is interesting your take on censorship. I personally believe that if the book is to be used, it should be used in its original form. If students are not yet able to maturely handle reading the “n” word in the book, maybe they aren’t really ready to be reading Huck Finn.
ReplyDeleteSo many controversies and debates have been created over the use of the word “nigger” in Huck Finn, that to change the word, would just take away some of the history of the book. I also believe that a great teaching lesson in and of itself could be brought up by keeping the original text. History shows that the “n” word was what was commonly used to refer to black people back in the day. I believe talking about this should be done sensitively, but I also feel that it would enlighten the students even more to the severity of the word and just how dehumanizing it was/is to black people. There would definitely need to be a preface of talking about the language in the book with the students as well as the parents, but to censor the book in my opinion, would be taking away a great history lesson from the book.
Good post!
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