Language in
Huck Finn
Controversy and Debate
First banning of the book
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In 1885, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was
banned from some libraries because of “coarse
language.”
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One of the Library Committee, while not prepared to
hazard the opinion that the book is "absolutely immoral in
its tone," does not hesitate to declare that to him "it
seems to contain but very little humor." Another
committeeman perused the volume with great care and
discovered that it was "couched in the language of a
rough, ignorant dialect" and that "all through its pages
there is a systematic use of bad grammar and an
employment of inelegant expressions." The third member
voted the book "flippant" and "trash of the veriest sort."
They all united in the verdict that "it deals with a series of
experiences that are certainly not elevating," and voted
that it could not be tolerated in the public library.
-New York Herald, March 18, 1885
How has the definition of
“coarse” language changed?
 At
your tables, discuss the change in the
meaning of “coarse” language. Is Huck’s
speech going to influence the speech of
readers?
 Speaking
of speech, what is the value in
using dialects in the book? Why not just
have everyone speak “properly”?
Some history of the controversy
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1884 - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.
1885 - The Concord Public Library bans Huck Finn on account of the title character's
bad example.
1885 - Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women remarked, “If Mr. Clemens cannot
think of something better to tell our pure-minded lads and lasses he had best stop
writing for them.”
1902 - The Brooklyn Public Library banned Huckleberry Finn because of Huck's
inappropriate behavior.
1907 - Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were banned from libraries on a regular basis
for their bad examples.
1935 - Ernest Hemmingway said, “all modern American literature comes from one book
by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”
1955 - CBS produces a made for TV film adaptation of Huck Finn. The film doesn't even
mention slavery. Jim is not black.
1957 - The NAACP calls Huck Finn racially offensive. The New York City Board of
Education takes it off its approved novels list.
1976 - Huck Finn is removed from a required reading list in Illinois because of the "n"
word.
1978 - Ironically, the People's Republic of China lifts its ban on Mark Twain.
1982 - Mark Twain Intermediate School administrator calls Huck Finn the “most
grotesque example of racism I’ve ever seen in my life”
1998 - Parents in Tempe, Arizona sue the school district over Huck Finn's presence on a
required reading list. The parents lost.
2011 – A version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is released, replacing the “n”
word with “slave”
Question for discussion
 Agree/disagree:
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn is an important novel
and students in America should read it.
New “censored” version
 http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlay
er.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1326
85293&m=132685255
Jill Nelson, author

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.
The notion that one can change one of those
carefully chosen words -- much less 219 of them -to suit their perception of contemporary mores
and eliminate the possibility of hurt sensibilities is an
abdication of a teacher’s responsibility to
illuminate and guide students through an
unfamiliar and perhaps difficult text. What’s next?
Substituting orange for red in a painter’s work
because some observers find red too aggressive?
Paul Butler, law professor
 If
some teachers have the audacity to
believe that Mark Twain’s work is still
meaningful, even absent the words
“nigger” and “injun,” more power to
them. If other teachers think keeping
those epithets in is worth the pain they will
cause students of color, I understand that
too. This isn’t about censorship, it’s about
choice. Either choice will have
unfortunate consequences.
Shelley Fischer Fishkin,
professor
Twain once wrote that “The difference between
the almost right word & the right word is really a large
matter -- it is the difference between the lightning bug
and the lightning.” He chose his words with care. The
“new edition" of Huck Finn is not new (John Wallace
published an edition that substituted “slave” for the nword over 25 years ago); and it is not Huck Finn.
It is the persistence of racism in America that
makes the n-word in Huck Finn a problem in the
classroom. We need to give teachers the tools they
need to teach Twain’s book in the context of the
history of racism in this country that is its central
concern.
Timothy Jay, author
 Cleaning
up literature is never a solution.
We should inform children and prepare
them to make their own decisions about
information. Uncomfortable topics like
sexuality, racism, harassment and
prejudice need to be confronted rather
than tucked away.
Commentary from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-changehuckleberry-finn
What do you think?
 What
is the impact of changing the “n”word in Huck Finn?
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What is lost or gained?