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Alpha Stage
Banning Huck Finn
November 2, 2006





The Detroit News is reporting that a suburban district has banned the
placement of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in its curriculum
because of “its liberal use of common racial slurs.”

The article does not inform the reader of the word, but those familiar
with the text would recognize it as beginning with the letter N. (Editorial
Note: I’m not certain whether or not it’s appropriate to spell out the
entire word in this context. What do you think?) The article states:

(The suburb’s) action is hardly unique. The American Library
Association named the classic one of the top five most banned books in
the United States during the 20th century.

In earlier years, it was targeted because of its sympathetic portrayal of
African-Americans. Now, it's because of the racial pejorative used to
describe Huck Finn's friend, a slave named Jim.

Read the Article!!


Discussion-Starters:

  • Ask your child(ren) what the following words mean: "racial,"
    "ban," and "text." You might invite your child(ren) to spell each of
    these words.

  • Ask your children if they've ever heard the word "Nigger." Ask
    them if they know what it means. (Many children have heard the
    word in music.)

  • Ask your child(ren) if they think it’s ever appropriate to use the
    word. Encourage them to support their opinions. What do you
    think? Share your ideas with your child(ren).

  • "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a classic book in
    American literature. But it was written in a different age. It was
    first published in 1885, shortly after the conclusion of the Civil
    War. The word "Nigger" was not considered to be in poor taste at
    that time. Ask your child(ren) if they think that students should be
    required to read books with racial slurs in them. Ask if people
    should read books that they disagree with? Encourage them to
    support their opinions? What do you think? Why?

  • Ask your children if they think that Mark Twain would have used
    the word "Nigger," if he had lived today? Why might he have used
    the word today? Are there any contexts in which it is acceptable
    to use the word today? Was Twain wrong to use the word when
    he did? In addition to asking your child(ren) to answer these
    questions, share your own thoughts.

  • You and your child(ren) can learn more about Mark Twain here!!
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