Adam's Page: Time to abolish the idea of "slave"

I think that the book should be read in school the way it is. We live in a day and age where racism still exists, but is played down and the  word "nigger" no longer has the influence it used to have. Racism is not a problem, and if anything is, it is Huck giving in to peer pressure (he is nice to Jim when no one else will know, but when his peers are around he pushes Jim off to the side).

Many people want the publishers to change "nigger" in the book to "slave." These people are not looking at the big picture. The great majority of people who find this racist towards African-Americans do not even belong in that racial group. Most are whites. Alan Gribben, the English Professor at Auburn University at Montgomery, and Jane Smiley, one of the largest voices of banning or changing the book, are both white.

The New York Times did a nice piece where they asked eleven figures in literature their take on the "nigger" or "slave" fiasco, so you were able to clearly see both sides of the argument. Of the eleven writers, only three are African-Americans. Two of them made different arguments on why "nigger" should remain, and the third said both sides should have consequences, so it should be up to the teacher to choose.

However, the piece that really got me thinking was actually written by a white lady, and entitled Why is 'Slave' Less Offensive? The author’s name is Francine Prose, and she is a 65 year-old white lady who is a published author whose last book was about Anne Frank. The piece she did for the New York Times was? This brings up a good point. Prose argues that "nigger" and "slave" are both slanderous, and jumping from one epithet to the next would not solve anything. She thinks that, "that the time and care Mark Twain put into choosing the words Huck Finn and those around him speak, into choosing the words they think, should be respected" (Prose Opinion Pages). Prose does say that she is against changing the word, but it is better than banning the book. I agree with her that "nigger" should not be changed to "slave" because it is Twain's writing, and he clearly wanted to make a point (he used the word 219 times), so changing that word would change the book and still not make it less offensive. For the same reason, I would disagree that a change is not better than a ban, because if we change the book that much, it would no longer be Mark Twain's story. Either way, we are not reading the true Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

At some point in the story, using the word "slave" would create a contradiction. For example, early in the book, Huck's father goes on a rant, and says, "They call that a govment that can't sell a free nigger till he's been in the State six months" (Twain Ch 6). In your head, try re-reading that sentence, except instead of reading "nigger," read "slave." it doesn't work. “Nigger” and “slave” are not synonyms. There is more than one use of the word "nigger" in the book. A slave, in its most basic form, is a person who is owned by another person. In the story, when Jim was a slave, Miss Watson owned him. Many times in the story, Huck refers to Jim as “my nigger” (Twain Ch 31) multiple times. Huck never feels like he has ownership of Jim, and at on point shows this by almost writing Miss Watson about returning Jim to her. To use a specific word like "slave" would ruin the storyline.

Another reason this book should be read in schools is because it causes this kind of debate. It gets people thinking. It teaches kids how to form opinions. If we try to censor everything kids see, then they will not be ready to argue in the future. People need to know how to defend themselves, and what they believe in. That is almost universally regarded as true in America. You cannot expect to be able shield people from controversy, then be able to defend it when need be. So what if some people are against this book? Let them argue a little, and both sides will become stronger as a whole. They say the two major political parties in America are the farthest apart they have been since the Civil War and reconstruction. Most of these senators will not just sit down and have a nice, peaceful talk about how to resolve things. There will be arguments, and there will be fights, and it is for the better. You get better and more even solutions this way and get more of what you want. Kids need to learn how to form an opinion, and defend it, because one day, what they do may influence a great number of people.

Prose, Francine. "Why is 'Slave' Less Offensive?." New York Times 5 1 2011, Opinion Pages. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-change-huckleberry-finn>.