Re-Writing Classics?-Huckleberry Finn

I really hate the politically correct turn society, the world in general has turned. It is so stupid. I think that it really spits on the spirit that the book was written in at the time. You take this step, but where you draw the line? Do you rewrite history books to not mention that slavery every happened in this country? It just seems like this back tracking is the more offensive thing. It is one thing after another. People need to live in the real world, because offensive things happen. Its just the way life is.

Frankly, I just find it illogical. You shouldn't impose your views anachronologically (i.e. modern views being applied to the past). Censorship in literature? I thought that was illegal, and for good reason. In Canada, which is where I live, hate speech is considered a crime..so technically, we do allow censorship...and in some contexts, I actually think that's necessary (for the greater good, I mean). However, in terms of literature, things like this should stand as product of it's time period, and should be read objectively in that respect.

I'm opposed to censorship in any shape or form and this sort of censorship is one of the most objectionable to my mind. Mark Twain was one of the worlds great writers and his work should not be tampered with by politically correct tyrants.

i heard about this on the news last night. seriously, if they let him get away with this one, which book/classic will they attack next? you have to take the book in the context it was writtn AND THE TIME PERIOD!

I think the political correctness has gone way overboard. Re-writing books to make them politically correct just strikes me as overtly shallow. Why can't we read a book as it was in the era it was written and understand that it came from a different time? Why does censoring those words take priority over truly learning and understanding our history? The thing that really bothers me is that while people accuse Huckleberry Finn of being racist because it uses those words, if they actually read the book then they would realize that it actually makes a very bold statement against racism and slavery.

As long as we can still choose between this new version and the original, I'm OK with it. And I'd always pick the original. But if people are genuinely offended by seeing those words in print, it's great for them to have this version that they can enjoy.

I was horrified when I first heard about this. Mark Twain is one of the world's great writers, and The Adventures of Huck Finn is certainly not racist. But then I heard that this book had long been banned in many schools, because of the N-word. Most normal parents do not want their children exposed to that awful word. This way, children can read of Huck's heroic decision to go to Hell rather than hurt his friend, an escaped slave. Then, when they are older, they can read the unexpurgated version. In fact, the version with the bad words taken out may make them long to sneak a look at the real thing. Forbidden fruit looks the sweetest. Imagine, children longing to get a look at great literature!

This is so odd - I mean, a writer becomes famous because he writes well, and changing his words can only damage that, right? Besides, classic books are not just literature, they're documents of an era and the respective mindset. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong in having some great pieces of classic literature re-written for younger children or foreign students who want to learn a language. But in this case, they'd have to do some more re-writing, not just change a couple of words.

This is awful but not unexpected in the era of political correctness which is dominating now. Times were different when Twain wrote and then the "N-word" and "Injun" were completely accepted.