That's an excellent essay on Huckleberry Finn, but she misses the most important reason of all for retaining Twain's words (whether or not they're racial slurs, and that's another discussion): Twain's whole point is that Huck, a Southern boy of the lower social class, transforms over the course of the story into someone willing to risk his immortal soul... risk the fires of Hell... rather than betray Jim. It's mighty hard to make the transformation if you insist that Huck's "before" status was all pretty and tidy and correct. Huck learns something very significant... but only if he starts out thinking of Jim as a lower creature of some kind. Twain obviously expects the reader to learn something, too; some do, but one... the editor... obviously doesn't.
The phrase I've heard regarding Mark Twain's word choices is that he always chose just the right word and not its second cousin. How many second cousins have I inflicted on the reading public...
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That's an excellent essay on Huckleberry Finn, but she misses the most important reason of all for retaining Twain's words (whether or not they're racial slurs, and that's another discussion): Twain's whole point is that Huck, a Southern boy of the lower social class, transforms over the course of the story into someone willing to risk his immortal soul... risk the fires of Hell... rather than betray Jim. It's mighty hard to make the transformation if you insist that Huck's "before" status was all pretty and tidy and correct. Huck learns something very significant... but only if he starts out thinking of Jim as a lower creature of some kind. Twain obviously expects the reader to learn something, too; some do, but one... the editor... obviously doesn't.
The phrase I've heard regarding Mark Twain's word choices is that he always chose just the right word and not its second cousin. How many second cousins have I inflicted on the reading public...
Not many, Steve. Most of yours have been totally right words and not a second cousin in sight.
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