Link to actual story: http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/
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| New roles for Tom & Huck |
NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remove all instances of the “n” word. The change is in response to complaints that repeated uses of the N-word and "Injun" are insulting to blacks and native Americans.
Publishers also plan additional changes to ensure the novel is more respectful and in line with current societal thinking.
Huck will be portrayed as a gay boy who yearns to be a girl. He will wear a dress for the entire time rather than the single scene in the original story. The King and the Duke are now conservative Republican fundraisers swindling townspeople as they go down the river.
In addition, Huckleberry Finn will no longer smoke a pipe and will advise his classmates to avoid tobacco and high fat foods because it causes cancer and heart disease. The non smoking advice will occur when Huck and his classmates are enjoying a meal under the school lunch program.
Jim will not be portrayed as a fleeing slave but instead will be a baseball player testing free agency and Huck will be his agent as they tour potential teams on their journey down the Mississippi.
The publishers statement said that the changes are in line with Mark Twain's philosophy of exposing the evil in society and added that if Twain were alive today he would surely be writing of the owners exploitation of the vulnerable minority athlete.
Publishers are also looking into possible revisions to Uncle Tom's Cabin and plan to change the title to The Conservative Puppet's Cabin.
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