To the Point
New Edition of 'Huck Finn' Purges the 'N' Word
In Mark Twain’s 1884 classic, Huckleberry Finn , the "N" word appears no less than 219 times. But in New South Books' upcoming edition , it doesn't appear at all. Does replacing the "N" word with "slave" make Twain accessible to young readers or is it censorship that distorts the realities of 19th Century America?
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readIn Mark Twain’s 1884 classic,
Huckleberry Finn, the "N" word appears no less than 219 times. But in New South Books'
upcoming edition, it doesn't appear at all. Does replacing the "N" word with "slave" make Twain accessible to young readers or is it censorship that distorts the realities of 19th Century America?
Peniel Joseph is Professor of History at Tufts University and author of
Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama
.
The full episode
3 of 3
The New Congress, the Deficit and the Pentagon- 0:00Speaker Boehner Sworn In as New Congress Opens
- 7:28The New Congress, the Deficit and the Pentagon
- 43:34New Edition of 'Huck Finn' Purges the 'N' Word You’re reading this
Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster
Andrea Brody
Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast
Frances Anderton
architecture critic and author
Katie Cooper
Producer, 'One year Later'
Peniel Joseph
historian and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and founding director of the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy
The full episode
3 of 3The New Congress, the Deficit and the Pentagon- 0:00Speaker Boehner Sworn In as New Congress Opens
- 7:28The New Congress, the Deficit and the Pentagon
- 43:34New Edition of 'Huck Finn' Purges the 'N' Word You’re reading this