Max's Page: Inscribed in our Lexicon

A Response to Part of Our Lexicon by Jill Nelson

   Jill Nelson feels that "the word" used in Huck Finn gives the reader an authentic reading experience. Jill Nelson is an African American writer who is responsible for works such as Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience and Find Martha's Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island. feels that "the word" has become a part of modern dialect in our society. "The word" is used as verbal filler or as a term of affection that is very far from hateful. Her biggest statement comes when she says, "There are vast differences between calling a character “nigger” and calling them “slave.” They are not interchangeable. Writers choose their words thoughtfully. Our words create, color, layer and texture and contextualize the stories we tell" (Nelson Paragraph 3). Nelson makes the point that changing an author's words that were chosen "thoughtfully" is like changing the "colors," "layers," and "textures" of a painter's masterpiece.

I feel that changing an author's words in his or hers novel, is removing the author's identity, background, style, and much more. As Jill Nelson puts it, the two words, "slave" and "nigger," are not interchangeable at all. They mean two completely different things. In the book, Huck Finn is arguing with Jim over Solomon's harem and the French language. Huck finally gives up and says, "I see it warn’t no use wasting words—you can’t learn a nigger to argue. So I quit" (Twain Chapter 14). Huck is clearly stating that all "niggers" can't ever learn a point of reason. Huck felt that he was "wasting" his "words" on Jim. If you replace the word "nigger" with "slave," then you completely remove the racial boundary that Huck faces because it was placed on him by society. Jill Nelson states that "the word" has become a part of our lexicon; "the word" was a part of Huck's lexicon too. The two words now have different meanings, but I feel that it is important for the youth to learn the history of the word, so that they understand the context and the history behind it. The censorship and removal of words only coerces people more into using the word because it's a "forbidden" word. Censoring the youth from history only allows the deep and dark history of racism to repeat itself.

Nelson, Jill. "The Word 'Nigger' Is Part of Our Lexicon - Room for

Debate - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. New York Times, 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-change-huckleberry-finn/the-word-nigger-is-part-of-our-lexicon>.

                                                                              -Max