The College Fix

An op-ed piece in the Sunday New York Times takes on the thought-provoking issue of censorship in relation to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel notorious for its stereotypical portrayal of an African-American man as well as its use of the “n-word” over 200 times. This piece comes on the heels of publisher NewSouth Books’ decision to release a bowdlerized version of the novel devoid of ethnic slurs.

The op-ed author, Lorrie Moore, offers her viewpoint on the issue:

But the remedy is not to replace “nigger” with alternative terms like “slave” (the latter word is already in the novel and has a different meaning from “nigger,” so that substitution just mucks up the prose — its meaning, its voice, its verisimilitude). The remedy is to refuse to teach this novel in high school and to wait until college — or even graduate school — where it can be put in proper context.

That’s right. According to Moore, the solution is not to censor Twain’s iconic work of literature, but rather to ban it from high schools outright–quite an interesting stance to see articulated in the New York Times.

Moore bases her argument on the notion that Huck Finn is “not an appropriate introduction to serious literature,” arguing that the “dignity” of an African-American student “is not always preserved or made a priority” in public schools.

Moore’s suggestion overlooks one crucial fact about the American education system: High schools aren’t created in order to preserve the dignity of their students. That’s not to say that schools should make no effort to preserve said dignity. Indeed, it is important that public schools take steps to ensure the mental well-being of their students; however, the fact remains that schools exist first and foremost in order to foster learning among students. The dissemination of knowledge cannot, under any circumstances, be relegated to secondary importance for the sake of the preservation of dignity.

Mark Twain’s novel is controversial, and rightly so. It was written in a time that espoused racial inequality and, in true fashion of that era, promotes hurtful stereotypes in the character of Jim and makes frequent use of equally hurtful ethnic slurs.

As such, it is unquestionably important that any teacher exposing high school students to the material should make full note of the validity of the controversy surrounding it, creating a setting that lends itself to openness and discussion. But the suggestion that Huck Finn should be completely banned–and high school students sheltered from it–is overly restrictive. Public school students should be allowed to explore an important resource that, when paired with the curriculum found in most American history high school classes, serves as a valuable insight into the ways of the past.

Adam Schwartzman is an SFPA Member. He writes for The Dartmouth Review and Ricochet.

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