219 “Niggers” Removed from “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”

Mark Twain, the father of American literature, once said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” This phrase can be dedicated to Dr. Alan Gribben of Auburn University in Alabama, who decided to publish “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in a censored, politically-correct version. The owner of the publishing house NewSouth Books decided that in his edition of Mark Twain’s most famous novel all 219 occurrences of the word “nigger” will be replaced with the less “controversial” word “slave.”

It isn’t the first time Mart Twain’s novels and articles have been the object of malicious attacks by various censors. The writer was a typical representative of southern American society, which was always skeptical towards the concept of the Union imposed on it by the federal government in Washington. Moreover, Twain didn’t conceal his antipathy towards American imperialistic policy concerning Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama or the Philippines. He was a fierce opponent of Theodore Roosevelt; he mercilessly ridiculed and attacked Roosevelt’s rule in his excellent articles. Perhaps that’s why he had always made enemies among the Yankee elites.

Twain was conscious of the fact that some of his views may be incomprehensible to his contemporaries. That’s why at the end of his life, he announced he would leave behind an autobiography which he had begun to write at the age of 35. After Twain’s death, the 5000-page manuscript was placed in his archive, established at the University of California at Berkeley. The writer stipulated in his last will that the biography may only be published 100 years after his death, that is, not earlier than on April 21, 2010. He understood that society is constantly changing, although not always for the better. Due to this reason, he rightly feared that at the beginning of the 20th century his biography would be brutally censored or entirely banned by progressive activists from Washington. Twain was a little naïve, however, to believe that future generations would oust politically-motivated reviewers from their ranks. “A book that is not to be published for a century gives the writer a freedom which he could secure in no other way. In these conditions, you can draw a man without prejudice exactly as you knew him and yet have no fear of hurting his feelings or those of his grandsons,” Mark Twain stated in 1899. He was wrong — so wrong! Although he lived in the time when true American freedom was already stifled by the chaos of the Civil War, he couldn’t even partly guess at what would become of America under the rule of politically correct idiots from the end of the 20th century.

What would the great writer say if he knew that exactly one hundred years after his death some imbecile from Alabama would dare to censor one of his best novels ever?

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a colorful and unique picture of society in America’s southern states, in the background of the adventures of an orphan boy from the lowest social circles, who, while running away from a certain widow trying to “civilize” him by force, undertakes a task to help a runaway slave. Mark Twain, in a ruthless and unadorned manner, shows coarseness, xenophobia, ignorance and racism, but also goodness, helpfulness, diligence and the feeling of freedom typical of southerners. The dialogue in the novel is not embellished; they show the language of those times with all its natural expressiveness.

The word “nigger” may not be replaced with “slave,” since it has an entirely different meaning. It’s a fact known best by some dwellers of black ghettos who, in their slang, address each other by the hip hop word “nigga” or “nigger.” In English speaking countries the word “nigger” is placed at the top of the great pyramid of banned expressions. Even mentioning this word without using the euphemistic expression the “N-word” is perceived as a manifestation of racism.

Publishing a censored version of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” would be like publishing Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy without using the word “peasant” to address farmers. Just imagine Zagloba who, waking up after the sentimental story told by Musialski, instead of saying “a peasant remains a peasant,” utters, “a farmer remains a farmer.” Doesn’t that sound idiotic?