Huckleberry Finn

[anotheoldgit]

http://tinyurl.com/36at68y

Should classical books now be censored because of their past wordage?

[McMouse]

No, but they have been and will continue to be censored.

[tiggerblue10]

I don't think so. The book was written in the 19th century and reflected the these times.

[Answerprancer]

Definitely not.
I remember we were made to abandon reading 'Kes' at school because there were a few expletives. I think it's important that the text in books is kept intact 'warts and all' for history's sake. How can we learn about our futures if our pasts get doctored by so called experts.

[chelle7272]

I recently re-read this book and it occurred to me then that it would probably be censored in future.
I don't agree with it, as the writing and language reflects the time in history and the culture it is set in and that should be understood. In case of schools it would be better to discuss why the book contains offensive words and put it into context.
Unfortunately I'm sure it won;t be the last.

[dotty.]

what about his 'Life On The Mississippi'? they've totally ignored that one and it is just the same. seems like a publicity stunt to me, real scholars of the author would know that

[bibblebub]

Censorship of Huckleberry Finn due to its use of certain words dates back to 1957, so nothing new in this story.

[dotty.]

He wasn't some eastern gent who sat around writing stuff he travelled and worked in those places and wrote about what he saw in it;s raw state as a comment on the world. .

[Ankou]

the book was first banned in 1885, a year after it was first published. censorship is a step forward.

you can still recite 'the love that dares to speak its name' on the steps of st martins without any problem. which i spose is ok.

[R1Geezer]

I don't know let me see...
eeny meany miney mo, catch a ......, doh! it's everywhere these days?

No I don't believe old books should be censored to make them PC for today, they are part of history and serve as reminders of progress/regression in equal measure.

[dotty.]

next they'll stop the actors called Othello a Blackamoore

[Ankou]

why ? use of the word 'moors' has no more ethnological value, than the black in blacksmith does.

[dotty.]

it's used as an insult

[Ankou]

i think that will was more interested at insults/stereotyping towards the jews, like shylock, than the moors.

[rojash]

"The scholars say the new version is a bid to make the book's treatment of race more in line with 21st century values"

How ridiculous. Are they going to rewrite every book every few years to keep it in line with current values? If the books are used in schools, then it's important that they should be explored within the context of the the time in which they were written.

BTW Answerprancer - I like the avatar!

[China Doll]

No, I don't believe they should be. A Ramble in St Jame's Park won't be half as much fun to read if they start doing that.

[anotheoldgit]

Answerprancer,rojash, jake-the-peg & ChuckFickens

How do you like donning a 'Right' uniform on those 'Lefties' bodies? Some good others not, but still not a patch on that great original.

But keep trying chaps, it will help you to while away these dull winter days.

[jake-the-peg]

This is not censorship.

This is making a modified, version for those who want that.

This would only be censorship if all other editions were withdrawn and not allowed in their original form.

Lady Chaterly's Lover was censored - you could not publish the original until the trial case was won.

This is totally different

[jno]

I used to be given children's versions of adult books at Christmas in my youth... I remember a 'cadet version' of Reach for the Sky; goodness knows what was left out of that.

So this is nothing new. Especially not with Huckleberry Finn, which has been controversial for years, though Mark Twain was firmly anti-racist at a time when most people weren't. But the N word is still offensive to many, and the publishers will want to get them reading the book too. As jake says, the book isn't being banned, they're just doing a schools version.