Huck Finn and The Censorship of the word nigger Research Paper

Huck Finn and The Censorship of the word nigger - Research Paper Example Words have colors and it’s meant to be that way especially if one is as the literary genius as Mark Twain. However, there are things to consider in executing ideas through words such as kind of audience, sensitivity of audience, appropriateness in setting, and the likes of these. Censorship is the ultimate resort in filtering some content that seems inappropriate in situation and kind of audience. Censorship is the â€Å"suppression of words, images, or ideas that are offensive, happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others.† (American Civil Liberties Union 2006) The implementation of censorship can be done by the government and can also be carried out by some private sectors that are concerned with the case by appellation. Pornography, violence, and slurs are the subjects that are often being censored if being presented for general viewing. Figure 1 Huck Finn and Jim History. The censorship of Huckleberry Finn doesn ’t take place recently. Huck Finn was highly criticized and equally censored one year upon its publication. The book was banned at Concord Public Library in 1885. The library declared Twain’s book to be â€Å"demeaning and damaging† with its crude language. This particularly pertains to the use of Twain of the word â€Å"nigger† for over 200 times in the book, as well as the slang â€Å"injun† that is meant to be a derogatory term for American Natives. Brooklyn Public Library in New York had followed Concord Library’s lead in pulling out their copies of Mark Twain’s controversial book in 1905. They have explained that â€Å"Huck not only itched but scratched, and that he said sweat when he should have said perspiration.† Contemporaries’ Stand. Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, had berated publicly Twain with the kind of writing he did with the book. She commented, â€Å"If Mr. Clemens cannot think of something but to tell our pure-minded lads and lasses he had best stop writing for them.† On the other hand, Twain found a defender in Ernest Hemingway. â€Å"It’s the best book we’ve had,† Hemingway praised Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain was just fortunate during his time as his fans outnumbered his critics, that’s why the censorship of the of the context that time was not as persuasive as today. In Other Media. Due to the censorship controversy of Huckleberry Finn, the CBS had produced TV-movie adaptation of the novel in 1955 without casting any African-American actor to portray the slave Jim. It did not even tackle the subject of slavery which is its prominent theme in the novel. The result is a safe material for general viewing but lacks the complete thought that Twain had intended to convey. It also appeared to be racist for casting non-black actors while a black character has prominent role in the story. The New Huck Finn: Censored. The new U.S. edition of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn has now the words â€Å"slaves† replaced the more than 200 â€Å"nigger† word. Mark Twain is obviously an anti-racist and Huckleberry Finn is actually the book that holds the strong message of his disconformities with the dehumanized treatment to the non-white race. The evidence is that through its disturbing dialogue courtesy of Huck and his Aunt Sally. â€Å"No’m. Killed a rigger,† answered Huck when Aunt Sally asked him upon hearing about the riverboat explosion. â€Å"Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt,† replied by Aunt Sally. The insensitivity to the misfortune of the black people is very visible in the context. Prof. Alan Gribben, a scholar of Twain, had