Posted on 01/19/2009 2:18:25 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
Reporting from Ridgefield, Wash. -- John Foley figures he has pretty much maxed out on explaining to African American mothers why it's OK to call a black man the N-word -- as long as it's in a novel that is considered a classic.
For years, English teachers have been explaining away the obvious racism in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." And for years, the book that perhaps best explains Americans' genetic predilection for hitting the road, only to later find themselves, has stayed near the top of many high school reading lists.
However, with an African American about to be inaugurated as president, Foley wonders whether 'Huck Finn' ought to be sent back down the river. Why not replace it with a more modern, less discomfiting novel documenting the epic journey of discovery?
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Bambi’s NOT an “African American.” He’s not even an American.
some people’s problem with some words is
Didn’t the lefties want to lynch Governor Palin for this a couple of months ago?
Wonder if they ever listened to what was coming out of their kids' mouths
Have you ever listened to what some of them put into their children’s ears?
I don’t know, I thought it must be OK to use the word now. I was sitting having lunch in NY last week when a black guy sat down at the table next to me. As soon as he sat down he started talking on his cell phone very loudly during his entire meal. Our tables were so close together they were just about touching. Every other word out of his mouth was N..... this and N..... that. Of course a few F words were thrown in the middle!
One man’s poison and all that. I would keep novels containing graphic sex and violence out of schools. Those are for adults (if they so choose to put the garbage into their minds). This used to be common sense, self-evident, but everything’s backwards now. When trash like “The Color Purple” is considered “literature”, but Mark Twain is not, you know everything’s backwards.
Hypocrisy, thy name is Liberal.
Thank you, Sam Clemens. No, we haven't learned a thing. I bet you thought we'd be more civilized by now.
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." Mark Twain
Why gosh, I'll just bet he'd prefer having his class read something like "Dreams of My Father."
I expel a John Foley every morning.
Let the PC book burnings begin!
My question to the class: "Is using the "n" word necessarily racist? Understanding and appreciating the context of words in a classic novel could be very useful to students learning about themselves and US cultural history. Today there many meanings of the "n" word, usually negative but not necessarily racist. The preoccupation with the use of certain words reflects more on the perpetrators than on their biased understanding of the originators, IMO.
Because it is an accurate historical depiction of the times and language used then. To deny all children a peek into the times would be like denying that slavery and racism once existed in our country.
Well, not really. He admits that he no longer knows how to teach that and other classics to today's young heads-full-of-mush, and they aren't interested in it, and he's using "offensive language," demaning portrayals of blacks, and dialect as his excuse. Best to stick with comic books, I guess.
I'm glad that the article at least captures what everyone with any kind of literacy knows about "Huckleberry Finn" -- and that is that Jim is one of the few completely moral characters in the book, and is its hero. In that context, the use of "nigger" in reference to him is even more despicable. Twain knew that. That was the point.
I think Clemmens was more realistically cynical than that.
Have the read the damn book? It is not racist. It speaks the way it does because that’s how they spoke at that time and place.
The main supporting character is a runaway slave. Huck and Jim talk about the absurdities of slavery. *It’s an anti-slavery, anti-racist book!*
Idiots.
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