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Connecticut High School Bans "Huckleberry Finn" (frequent use of racist language)

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The Straight Story Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:51 PM
Original message
Connecticut High School Bans "Huckleberry Finn" (frequent use of racist language)
Connecticut High School Bans "Huckleberry Finn"

"Huckleberry Finn" is regarded as one of the first great American novels.

It's often taught in high schools, and often criticized for what some say is it's frequent use of racist language.

Now a Connecticut school has temporarily banned the book while the school board reviews a parent's complaint over use of the "n-word" in the literary classic.

Manchester High School's principal wouldn't comment on the ban, other than to say that a review is underway, but most parents said the book should be taught.

http://www.wvva.com/News/index.php?ID=19171
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acmavm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:54 PM
Response to Original message
1. You seem to have a radar for finding these stories. First the baggy pants
and now this stupidity. How do you do it? Doesn't it depress you that it seems that this country is dumbing down at an amazing rate?

I guess that it's a good thing to know what kind of clucks we have making decisions for us, but it sure does reinforce the idea that humans are devolving.
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hayu_lol Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
5. OMI, send that school about 10 copies of...
Pilgrim's Progress and let the kids read that(if they can).
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The Straight Story Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:57 PM
Response to Reply #1
6. Go to google, click news, type in Bans, banned, etc
and read :)
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Teaser Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
2. Yes the n-word was never used in the antebellum south
.
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CatWoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:06 PM
Response to Reply #2
11. LOLOLOLOL
which one? Nappy?

:rofl:
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book_worm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
3. I hate any book bannings.
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:57 PM
Response to Original message
4. I heard this on the news this morning...but they won't ban it.
Edited on Tue Dec-11-07 04:57 PM by Breeze54
I seriously doubt any school in CT would ban it.
They're just 'reviewing' it to placate the complainer, imho.

This to shall pass.
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AngryAmish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 04:59 PM
Response to Original message
7. morons
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Marrah_G Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:02 PM
Response to Original message
8. I have issues with prettying up history
History was what it was. Changing it now does a great injustice to those who came before us. There was slavery. There was horrible treatment of blacks. There was prejudice and discrimination. There were derogatory terms used. Ignoring it will not make it go away. Ignoring it just makes it more likely to happen again.

I would think Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would be a great opening to discuss language and racism.
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dtotire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:05 PM
Response to Original message
9. My Sixth Grade Teacher Read It To Us
Edited on Tue Dec-11-07 05:07 PM by dtotire
However, she did not use the N____ word. For the N word, she substituted "slave". This did not distract from the book as a whole. For sixth graders, this was the correct thing to do. There were one or two black children in the class, and they would be offended. A year later, I read the book and saw as it had been written.
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AlCzervik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:06 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. my daughter read it last year when she was in 6th grade.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
12. More here.
http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19094621&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6

They tracked down the nutjob's name.
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The Straight Story Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:09 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. Thanks for more info on this
and a kick for your reply!
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Dyedinthewoolliberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
14. Not this crap again!
I swear, people can be so short sighted and reactionary.
Here is why:
The book is generally considered to be anti-slavery.
The language reflects the culture of our society when it was written.
It has darned fine writing!
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NV Whino Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
15. Oh for Gawds sake
Old Huckleberry might just hold the record for being banned the most times of any book ever printed.
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:13 PM
Response to Reply #15
20. It wasn't 'banned' and it won't be...
I seriously doubt it.

One complainer won't change the status quo.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:13 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. She's stopping it from being taught.
Her efforts will fail, surely, but this is still censorship.
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #21
23. Well; I'm sure they'll read it in 2 weeks instead of this week!
:P

It'll be the Winter vacation assignment. There's one of 'those' in every crowd. She, who ever she

is, won't get her way but at least the school board is respecting her by at least taking a short

time to review. That doesn't mean they'll ban it permanently and I'll bet they're just doing it

to stall her anyway. Maybe it'll give them time to reason with her. I'm not worried about it.
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Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 05:55 PM
Response to Original message
16. If some of you haven't reread that book as an adult,
please do yourselves a big favor and do so. For kids, it's a rollicking adventure story. For adults, it's a massive satire that deflates every bit of pomposity Mark Twain saw in his world, and he saw plenty.

I have no illusions about why the pursed lips crowd wants the book banned, and it has nothing to do with Twain's use of the "n word," one that was appropriate for the time and place of that novel.

Sacred cows just don't like being slaughtered.
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Alexander Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:02 PM
Response to Original message
17. Reminds me of the Family Guy episode where they say "N-word Jim".
Manchester isn't far from where I grew up, and I'm not surprised to see this sort of foolishness.
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mod mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:07 PM
Response to Original message
18. I read Huck to my kids (10 + 11 yo) this summer and explained the historic
Edited on Tue Dec-11-07 06:08 PM by mod mom
significance of the book. I used the word "negro" instead of the "n" word, but explained that the book uses the dialect of the time.

It makes a strong case against racism.

Now just by chance, my son's sixth grade class chose Tom Sawyer for their end of the year 6th grade musical.
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pdxmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:09 PM
Response to Original message
19. What the heck is there to review? Hasn't the school board read and
reread this book and know enough to make a decision. Like, leave it alone. This is totally stupid.
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mtnester Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 06:25 PM
Response to Original message
22. Wellllll......
Edited on Tue Dec-11-07 06:25 PM by mtnester
In another 100 years, what words do we use today that will be considered racist or bigoted?
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Manifestor_of_Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-11-07 08:15 PM
Response to Original message
24. Don't tell them about Joseph Conrad.
And his book "The Nigger of the Narcissus".

Don't flame me, I am quoting the title of the book.
It was common usage back in that time. That doesn't make it right. Mark Twain used Huck Finn to show that Jim was a human being, and Huck realized that Jim was a human being just like he was, and that slavery was evil.
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