Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Transcription

Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
Education Guide
2012-2013 Season
Dear Educator,
At Classical Theatre Project,
we believe that young people should experience classic works live. We believe !"#!$ %!&'()!%$ *+$ #,,$ -#./01*&)'%$ .#)$ 1(.*0)23($
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Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca
This study guide was created
by Jeffrey Simlett, CTP’s education director and one of the
original cast members in CTP’s
production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Thanks to
Charles Roy, our Artistic Director,
for providing his insight during
countless hours of rehearsals
and interviews.
Created by:
Jeffrey Simlett, MFA
Education Director
Charles Roy, MFA
Artistic Director
15
A note on the language
in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
From CTP Artistic Director, Charles Roy
Our production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is very faithful to the original novel; in
fact, most of the language in our script has been extracted directly from the book.
This means you will hear much of Mr. Twain’s beautiful writing, but you will also hear some of
the harsher language of the day. This language includes the word “nigger.”
The historical use of the word “nigger’”during Mark Twain’s time -- the 19th century -- was very
different than its use in the 20th and 21st centuries. During Mr. Twain’s time, that word was a
“describer” of a particular kind of person – an African American person: it was often used interchangeably with the word “slave.” Later on, that same word became a derogatory word. When
we hear the word – even being spoken from a character in a play which is set 150 years ago
– we hear it as a horrid, negative word. You might study words changed in meaning over time.
We at the Classical Theatre Project do not support using this word casually, or thoughtlessly.
We do, however, see value in including it in our show. Much like the novel Adventures of Huck‐
leberry Finn itself, this word is an artifact of both our past and our present. It’s something we
need to look at critically to learn from. As we have seen while working on this piece, and as you
will soon see, the book may be 150 years old but it still has a lot to teach us.
Mr. Twain was very selective in his word choices and he always wrote to make a point. In choosing to keep his writing intact, we have a point, too.
As the play unfolds, listen closely to how Mr. Twain used words and then consider how we use
them. For, as you know, how people use words is as important as the meaning and history of
the words themselves.
At the end of the performance, you’ll have a chance to talk to the actors and air your views on
this matter. You will also have a chance to ask questions and talk about any other issues raised
in the play.
6
Introduction
Inspiration for this production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
“I wrote several versions of the script, analyzing the novel from the
point of view from several different characters. The thing I began to
question most was: Why is Huck telling this story? “
‐ Director / Adaptor Charles Roy CTP’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn$.()!(1%$*)$!"($G&(%5*)$
of storytelling: the human need to retell and relive the events *+$!"($8#%!$#%$#$9#4$*+$2)%5,,2)0$6(#)2)0$#)'$&)'(1%!#)'2)0$
our world. Just as the novel looks back on a world that was decades re‐
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2)$!"($8,#4$,**/$-#./$#!$!"(21$,2<(%$92!"$!"($8(1%8(.5<($*+$#0($
#)'$'2%!#).(?$$@"(4$1(6(6-(1$/(4$(<()!%7$%*6(56(%$0,*%%$
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ally argue over the facts and memories. A new adaptation
The Classical Theatre Project’s
production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an original
adaptation. This adaptation
features a cast of nine actors,
who each play multiple roles
as the story is told, and retold.
The words they speak are
drawn almost entirely from
the language of Mark Twain’s
novel. Artistic Director Charles
Roy created this adaptation in
2011.
The play examines the way in which our lives are shaped by !"($."*2.(%$9($6#/(7$#)'$!"($9#4%$2)$9"2."$%*.2(!4$.#)$-($
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1
Characters
People you will meet in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn
The son of the town drunk, seen in the play both as a young boy and as an older man looking back on his life.
Pap
His father. Drunk, dangerous, broke, racist and illiterate. He tries to claim custody of Huck.
Tom Saywer
Huck’s best friend, a fan of outlandish adventure and wild schemes.
The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson
Two older sisters, Huck’s guardians. They aim to civilize him, and teach him about religion
and society.
Jim
Miss Watson’s slave – Jim escapes to pursue his dream of finding freedom and reuniting
with his wife and children.
Judge Thatcher
Advisor to Huck and custodian of his money, he fights to protect Huck from Pap.
King and Duke
A pair of con men who enlist Huck and Jim in a number of swindles as they travel down the
river. They eventually betray Jim, and sell him to Uncle Silas.
Mary-Jane and Joanna
Sisters whom King and Duke attempt to con out of their inheritance. Huck falls in love with
Mary-Jane and betrays the swindler’s scheme.
Doctor Robinson
Friend to Mary-Jane, who recognizes that King and Duke are frauds. He warns Mary-Janagainst trusting them.
Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas
Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle. Uncle Silas purchases Jim from King and Duke for $40.
Also a Preacher and various doctors, farmers, townspeople and slave hunters.
3
Synopsis
The events of the play
We meet Huckleberry Finn, seeing him both as a boy AND as an older man looking back on
his life. We learn that as a result of a previous series of adventures with his friend, Tom Sawyer, the
young Huck has a fortune of six thousand dollars – all gold – which is being held for him in trust.
He’s being cared for by the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, and feels smothered by
their attempts to “sivilize” him with good manners, church and school.
Huck’s drunken father returns to town and demands Huck’s money. The Widow tries to get
custody of Huck, and to safeguard his money. But Pap kidnaps Huck and hides away in a cabin in
the woods. Huck eventually escapes from Pap by faking his own death, and hides out on Jackson
Island, in the middle of the Mississippi.
Huck encounters Jim, one of Miss Watson’s slaves, on the island. Jim has run away after hearing
of Miss Watson’s plan to sell him. Huck is uncomfortable befriending a runaway slave, but he and
Jim team up and start down the river on a raft. They intend to go to the free states, where Jim can
work to earn money to buy his wife and children out of their slavery. Their lazy days floating down
the river are peaceful, blissful, and they both feel free at last.
Huck realizes that they are drifting further into the slave states. Huck continues to con-
ceal Jim’s identity from the slave-hunters they meet along the way, but his conscience nags him
about concealing “stolen property.”
Huck and Jim rescue a pair of men who are being pursued. The men turn out to be a pair
of swindlers who have been conning the local townspeople, and they tell Huck and Jim that they
are in fact a Duke and the rightful heir to the throne of France. Duke and King enlist Huck’s help in
a number of scams as they continue down the river.
Duke and King sell Jim to a local farmer. Huck decides to free his friend. When he arrives at
the farm, he discovers that Jim is being held by Tom Sawyer’s Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas. Aunt Sally
mistakes Huck for Tom, and then the real Tom arrives; he pretends to be his own younger brother,
Sid. Tom’s adventurous imagination invents a wild plan to free Jim, a scheme that involves all kinds
of unnecessary complications from the adventure books he’s read. Jim is eventually freed, but as
they are pursued, Tom is shot in the leg. Jim, at the risk of his own freedom, demands that they call
the doctor to get help for the wounded boy.
Tom reveals that Jim has in fact been free all along; his owner, Miss Watson, has died and
set him free in her will. Tom knew all along that Jim was a free man, and plotted the crazy escape
as a game, an adventure…
4
Huck Finn
an historical context
Mark Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn nearly twenty years after the end of the American Civil War, between 1876 and the early 1880’s. The novel was first published in 1884, and depicted a world that had, in theory, passed into history.
Huckleberry Finn begins in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, based on Mark Twain’s
boyhood home town, Hannibal. Missouri was a “slave” state that remained part of the Union during the Civil War, although many Missourians fought for the Confederacy. The states surrounding
Missouri were “free” states, and abolitionists from Iowa and Illinois frequently came to the assistance of slaves escaping from Missouri.
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution officially abolished slavery. Former slaves were
granted citizenship and the right to vote in 1870 by the 15th Amendment. The 15th amendment
declared that no man could be denied the vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.” Much of Southern white society, however, continued to regard the former slaves as
sub-human, and in practice, the newfound freedom of the former slaves did not mean equality.
In the 1870’s, a series of state and local laws known as “Jim Crow Laws” legalized racial segregation,
resulting in inferior social services and serious educational and social disadvantages. Such laws
also erected barriers to the vote that effectively disenfranchised most African-Americans. W.E.B.
Dubois described the situation in this way: “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun;
then moved back toward slavery.”
continued->
“Twain had rendered Jim’s liberation in Huckleberry Finn at that precise moment in American history
when barely realized liberties were being wrenched one by one from the grasp of the emancipated black
man in the South.” - Neil Schmitz, “Twain, Huckleberry Finn, and the Reconstruction.”
2
Huck Finn
an historical context
During the time when Twain was writing Huckleberry Finn , the dream of freedom, justice and racial
equality in America was rapidly souring. Toni Morrison wrote that the “evasion” section at the end
of the Huckleberry Finn was Mark Twain’s satirical commentary on this period of history, when “the
nation, as well as Tom Sawyer, was deferring Jim’s freedom in agonizing play.”
“When the Civil War ended, there was no end to the possibilities of what America could
be – suddenly unified, suddenly with an emancipated labor force, filled with energy and
freedom.
But then there was a push back from that sudden emancipation, from freedom, and
good will. And America had a problem: how do we, as a country, deal with the fact
of what we’ve been versus what we want to become? That’s when a lot of the racial
tensions that we still experience today began to foment. After emancipation, the way
people had treated slaves had to changed. But they couldn’t – it was too entrenched.
There was a systemic intolerance. People were trying to figure out how to move on. At
the time they found no easy solutions. And these issues are still pertinent today. So
many things about the world have changed, but that central issue has not. We’re still
dealing with our shared history, and that’s what this production explores.”
- Director/Adapter Charles Roy
16
Lesson
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Satire and the Work of Mark Twain
Satire is a style in which sarcasm, ridicule, and irony are used as tools to expose human folly. Satire is meant to
demonstrate foolishness or vice in the characters depicted; sometimes it is a serious protest intended to
cause change in attitude. Sometimes satire pokes fun more gently and comically, to make people laugh. In
either case, the audience should be left to think at least a little more deeply about the condition of the
world – laughter leads to thought.
Satire is one of the oldest forms of humor, originating in the early ‘satyr’ plays of the Ancient Greek world. Those
plays featured a chorus of mythological goat-like characters who commented on the action; their drunken antics
and exaggerated silliness provoked laughter by mocking and criticizing well-known Athenians. Such criticism,
softened by laughter, could carry a message without causing offense. The genre proved so popular that it has endured to this day and continues to be a highly-respected literary form. When done well, satire uses sarcasm, irony
and other good-natured forms of humor to teach us a lesson about ourselves.
Consider television programs like 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, The Simpsons and South Park. Each of them comments on politics, society, religion, work and relationships in a tongue-in-cheek way that allows us to question our
attitudes and opinions. The fact that each of them has aroused controversy is a sign that some disapprove of the
attitudes being challenged, and the questions being raised.
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Are we meant to take everything the characters say and do literally? Can you think of a moment in the play when what 2%$%#2'$*1$'*)($8*2)!%$!*$#)*!"(1$6(%%#0($#-*&!$%*.2(!47$#-*&!$8*,25.%7$*1$1(,202*)J$$I"#!$/2)'$*+$."#)0($'*$4*&$!"2)/$
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explicitly?
17
Lesson
Huckleberry Finn: A Picaresque Story
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BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR
What does “picaresque” mean?
A “picaresque” story is one that tells the story of a lower-class character who moves from adventure to adventure
and lives by his wits in a hypocritical and corrupt society.
The word ‘Picaresque’ comes from 16th Century Spain where rambling stories starring roguish heroes were very
popular (‘picaro’ means ‘rascal’ in Spanish). Like satire, these stories mask social commentary and strong lessons with humor.
Huck Finn is often referred to as ‘picaresque’ because in the novel, Huck bounces from adventure to adventure without an obvious over-arching narrative governing his actions. There are many (sometimes unrelated) events in the
plot, each of which is almost a separate short story.
Director Charles Roy says:
The book is highly episodic in nature. Mark Twain has a famous statement: “anyone looking to find a plot
in this story will be shot,’ deliberately suggesting that there was is no single unifying through line or message in the novel.
But the stage requires a narrative; it’s not like a novel, which you can pick up and put down again. Once
you enter a play you’re there until the play is over; to simply jump from one episode to the next would
make for an unsatisfying play. So when I made this adaptation, I had to create something that was a little
more traditional in terms of storytelling structure, that has a through line and a tightly controlled journey
for the central characters.
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What do we learn about the characters? How does it move the characters forward? Are there parts of the story that you miss?
5
Lesson
The Language of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Controversial “Trash” or “Celebrated” Classic?
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is almost always described as a classic, yet it has sparked controversy from the
moment of its publication in 1885. It was famously banned by the Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts; the
library committee described it as “trash”, and complained that the book was “couched in the language of a rough,
ignorant dialect” and that “all through its pages there is a systematic use of bad grammar and an employment of
inelegant expressions.”
Eventually the book came to be celebrated for this rough, everyday style of speech, and for presenting all manners and classes of characters, the crass as well as the refined; this break with the tradition of “proper” novels was a
first in American literature. In time Ernest Hemingway would declare that “all modern American Literature comes
from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”
More recent controversy, centers on Twain’s frequent use of the word “nigger”, which appears over 200 times in
the novel. Many argue that the use of the word in a contemporary classroom is harmful and hurtful to students.
Others argue against censorship, note the book’s status as a classic, and suggest a variety of historical and literary
contexts to support inclusion of the word. A 2011 printing of the book edited by Alan Gribben replaces all 219
instances of the word “nigger” with “slave”, fueling the fire of the controversy.
In this adaptation of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, director Charles Roy has chosen to retain some uses of the
word “nigger.”
continued->
7
Lesson
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Director Charles Roy says:
“The world has changed dramatically since the novel was written. The connotations and the depth of
the impact of the word “nigger impact has changed .
It’s now a word that has oppression layered into it, has power and struggle layered into it. But it
seemed dishonest to me to do the book without acknowledging the fact of the word. If we’re going
to do a play about a man looking back on his life, he should also look back on the words he used to
use, and how and why that may have changed. I wanted to honor the book as it was written as much
as I possibly could.
I chose to preserve the utterance of the word in the script, but use it for its modern dramatic impact. A
lot of time it comes out of the mouths of characters we are meant to dislike – so we use it as a dramatic
tool that intends to both honor the past, and also recognizes what its impact could be today.”
Discussion Questions
Do you agree with the director’s choice to use the word “nigger” in the play? Can you think of reasons it should
be included? Reasons why it should be replaced or omitted? What do you gain, or lose, in either case? Are
there some words that are so offensive they should never be used?
The first character to use the word is Pap, who repeats it 6 times as he rails against the “govment.” What is the
effect of hearing it spoken then? How do you feel, and what is the reaction of the audience?
Is it different to hear the word spoken out loud, on stage, than it is to read it?
Jim and Huck both also use the word – is it different to hear it spoken by a young character? By an AfricanAmerican character?
Are there other elements of the story or the production that could be considered controversial?
8
Theme
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Quotations and Discussion
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DISCUSS:
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a kind of slavery? Huck: “I am the boss of it all!”
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freedom?
9
Theme
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!"($."#1#.!(1$*+$U>,'$K&./V7$9"*$!(,,%$!"($%!*14$#%$"($,**/%$-#./$*)$!"($(<()!%$*+$!"($8#%!7$%"#82)0$!"($)#11#5<($#)'$
arguing over the way things really happened. @"($2)!(18,#4$-(!9(()$+#.!$#)'$:.5*)7$!"($U1(c9125)0V$*+$"2%!*147$!"($*62%%2*)$*+$'(!#2,%7$!"($!(,,2)0$*+$,2(%$+*1$%(,+c
81(%(1<#5*)$#1($#,,$#$8#1!$*+$Huckleberry Finn’s world. I"()$.*)+1*)!('$-4$#$8#21$*+$%,#<(c"&)!(1%7$K&./$,2(%$#)'$!(,,%$!"(6$!"#!$U"2%$6#)V7$T267$2%$9"2!(?$$K($6(#)!$!*$!&1)$
T26$2)7$-&!$:)'%$!"#!$!"($,2($%812)0%$!*$"2%$,28%S$"($-,#6(%$"2%$&8-12)02)0$d$UQ$9&3$-1&)0$&8$92./('?V
DISCUSS:
Q%$2!$#,9#4%$91*)0$!*$!(,,$#$,2(J$$C1($!"(1($'(01((%$*+$&)!1&!"J$$e20$,2(%$#)'$,2^,($,2(%J
K#<($4*&$(<(1$!*,'$#$,2($!*$81*!(.!$#$+12()'J$$B2'$2!$-*!"(1$4*&$!*$"#<($-(()$'2%"*)(%!7$*1$9#%$!"($&)!1&!"$F&%5:('J
Is the telling of lies a habit that can be blamed on a bad upbringing? Is it possible to overcome such a habit? B*$f>g$"#<($#)4$"#-2!%$!"#!$4*&$92%"$4*&$.*&,'$-1(#/J$$I"#!$81(<()!%$4*&$+1*6$'*2)0$2!J
!CDE%&'F&A/0&),5=4>&)2&3/$+&35&32")*&GH;&F&A2".1&12&)*+&,=>*)&)*=4>&/41&)*+&#.+/4&)*=4>6&7")&1++-&12A4&=4&3+&
F&$42A+1&=)&A/0&/&.=+:&&;2"&#/49)&-,/5&/&.=+&I&F&<2"41&)*/)&2"):?
WRITE:
Conscience and regret play a huge part in the story of Huckleberry Finn. That feeling of regret can come immediate‐
,4$#%$9($%#4$*1$'*$%*6(!"2)07$*1$2!$.#)$#112<($#$,2+(56($,#!(1?$$@"2)/$-#./$!*$#$56($9"()$4*&$'2%#88*2)!('$4*&1%(,+$
*1$%*6(*)($(,%($d$6#4-($#$:0"!$92!"$#$+12()'$*1$+#62,4$6(6-(17$#$,2($4*&$!*,'7$*1$#$56($9"()$4*&$'2'$)*!$-("#<($
#!$4*&1$-(%!?$$I12!($2)$'(!#2,$#-*&!$9"#!$"#88()('7$9"#!$9#%$%#2'7$!"($()<21*)6()!$9"(1($!"($(<()!$!**/$8,#.(?$$
K*9$'2'$4*&$+((,$2)$!"($6*6()!7$#)'$"*9$'*(%$!"#!$+((,2)0$."#)0($#%$4*&$!"2)/$-#./$*)$!"($(<()!J$$I(1($4*&$#-,($
!*$#8*,*023(J$$I"#!$81(<()!('$4*&J$$B2'$4*&$(<()$9#)!$!*$#8*,*023(J$$
10
Theme
5,(?H$&(H&K'LD$@#K'"()'J%&&),:',.'0*,D<*#
@"($2)!(18,#4$-(!9(()$.*)%.2().($#)'$0&2,!$2%$#$.*)%!#)!$&)'(1.&11()!$2)$!"($)#11#5<($*+$K&./,(-(114$;2))?$$@"($
."#1#.!(1%7$8#15.&,#1,4$K&./7$#1($.*)5)&#,,4$!*1)$-(!9(()$9"#!$!"(4$9#)!$!*$'*$#)'$9"#!$!"(4$+((,$2%$(]8(.!('$*+$
them. &@*+&323+4)&)*/)&!"#$&1+#=1+0&)2&<2..2A&*=0&2A4&*+/,)&J,/)*+,&)*/4&02#=+)590&+K-+#)/L24&2<&*=3M&=0&)*+&
#.=3/K&2<&)*+&0)2,5:
@(B%&'N249)&52"&,+#$24&)*/)&)*+&-+2-.+&)*/)&3/1+&)*+&722$0&$42A0&A*/)90&)*+&#2,,+#)&)*=4>&)2&12O?
Q)$,#42)0$*&!$!"($01*&)'$1&,(%$+*1$!"($-#)'$*+$1*--(1%$W#)'$*!"(1$#%%*1!('$#'<()!&1(%X7$@*6$A#94(1$-,2)',4$#'"(1(%$
!*$!"($81(.('()!$,#2'$'*9)$-4$*!"(1%?$$B*2)0$!"2)0%$'2L(1()!,4$9*&,'$U0(!$!"2)0%$#,,$6&'',('$&8?V
DISCUSS:
I"#!$#1($%*6($*+$!"($01*&)'$1&,(%$!"#!$4*&$#1($(]8(.!('$!*$*-%(1<(7$-#%('$*)$!"($81(.('()!`(]8(.!#5*)%$!"#!$
others have set? E*)%2'(1$+#62,47$%."**,7$1(,202*)7$8*,25.%7$%*.2(!4$#!$,#10(?$$Q%$.*)+*162!4$!*$!"*%($-("#<2*1%$&%(+&,J$$C1($!"(1($8&)‐
2%"6()!%$+*1$-1(#/2)0$92!"$U!"(6$!"#!$6#'($!"($-**/%JV
Tom’s faithfulness to what he’s read in the books is carried so far that it’s plainly meant to be ridiculous. Do you !"2)/$H#1/$@9#2)$620"!$"#<($6(#)!$!"2%$2)$%*6($9#4$#%$#$.*66()!$*)$"2%$-**/J
!CDE%&'P+2-.+&A=..&#/..&3+&/&.2AQ12A4&H72.=L24=0)&/41&1+0-=0+&3+&<2,&$++-=4>&3"3&I&7")&)*/)&1249)&3/$+&42&
1=R+,+4#+:?
I"()$"($,(#1)%$!"#!$T26$"#%$1&)$#9#47$K&./$2%$!*1)$-(!9(()$"2%$'&!4$!*$!&1)$T26$2)$#)'$"2%$'(%21($!*$-($+#2!"+&,$!*$"2%$
friend. This tension between what society demands and what one feels to be right is a steady presence in the play.
DISCUSS, or WRITE:
I"2."$2%$01(#!(1$d$*&1$*-,20#5*)$!*$*)($8(1%*)$*1$*&1$*-,20#5*)$!*$%*.2(!4$#!$,#10(J
K#<($4*&$(<(1$0*)($#0#2)%!$!"($01#2)7$'*)($'2L(1()!$+1*6$(<(14*)($#1*&)'$4*&J$$K*9$'2'$2!$+((,J$$I(1($!"(1($.*)%(‐
quences for following your own path? Was it worth it? Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca
11
Theme
5,(?H$&(H&K'LD$@#K'"()'J%&&),:',.'0*,D<*#
!CDE%&'H..&,=>*)6&)*+46&F9..&>2&)2&*+..S?
K&./$:)'%$!"#!$"($2%$&)#-,($!*$-(!1#4$"2%$+12()'7$(<()$!"*&0"$2!$6(#)%$0*2)0$#0#2)%!$(<(14!"2)0$"(=%$-(()$!#&0"!7$
(<(14!"2)0$!"#!$"($/)*9%$2%$U120"!V?$$Q)$#$9*1,'$!"#!$%((%$T26$#%$,(%%$!"#)$"&6#)7$K&./$)*9$%((%$"26$#%$<(14$"&6#)7$
#)'$#%$#$+12()'?$$K($9*112('$!"#!$"(='$)(<(1$-($#-,($!*$,**/$#)4*)($2)$!"($+#.($#0#2)7$-&!$:)#,,4$'#1(%$!*$#..(8!$!"($
.*)%(G&().(%$*+$"2%$#.5*)%$-4$+*,,*92)0$"2%$*9)$8#!"?
DISCUSS, or WRITE:
E#)$4*&$!"2)/$*+$%*6(*)($W(2!"(1$2)$4*&1$*9)$,2+(7$*1$#$"2%!*12.#,$:0&1(X$9"*$6#'($!"(21$*9)$9#47$'2'$!"($*88*%2!($
*+$9"#!$9#%$!"($#..(8!('$U120"!V$!"2)0J$$
B2'$4*&$'(%82%($!"(67$#%$K&./$+(#1%$"($9*&,'$-($'(%82%('J$$
Did you admire their courage in taking an unpopular or unorthodox stand?
TH@D!&/41&UFG@VW%&
;*1$6*6()!%$2)$!"($8,#4$9"()$!"($."#1#.!(1%$#1($!*1)$-(!9(()$'*2)0$9"#!$!"(4$9#)!7$#)'$'*2)0$9"#!$2%$U120"!V?$$
I"*$'*$4*&$1**!$+*1$2)$%&."$%2!&#5*)%J$$
B*$4*&$#01(($92!"$!"($."*2.(%$!"(4$&,56#!(,4$6#/(J$$
12
Parting Thought
from the notebook of Mark Twain
In those old slave‐holding days the whole community was agreed as to one thing‐‐
the awful sacredness of slave property. @*$"(,8$%!(#,$#$"*1%($*1$#$.*9$9#%$#$,*9$.126(7$-&!$!*$"(,8$#$"&)!('$%,#<(7$*1$+(('$
"26$*1$%"(,!(1$"267$*1$"2'($"267$*1$.*6+*1!$"267$2)$"2%$!1*&-,(%7$"2%$!(11*1%7$"2%$'(‐
%8#217$*1$"(%2!#!($!*$81*68!,4$!*$-(!1#4$"26$!*$!"($%,#<(c.#!."(1$9"()$*88*1!&)2!4$
*L(1('$9#%$#$6&."$-#%(1$.126(7$h$.#112('$92!"$2!$#$%!#2)7 a moral smirch which 42)*=4>&#2".1&A=-+&/A/5:&
@"#!$ !"2%$ %()56()!$ %"*&,'$ (]2%!$ #6*)0$ %,#<(c*9)(1%$ 2%$ .*681("()%2-,(cc!"(1($
were good commercial reasons for it‐‐7")&)*/)&=)&0*2".1&+K=0)&X&1=1&+K=0)&/324>&
)*+&-/"-+,06&)*+&.2/<+,0&)*+&)/>Q,/>&X&727)/=.&2<&)*+&#233"4=)56&X&=4&/&-/00=24/)+&
X&"4#23-,23=0=4>&<2,36&=0&42)&=4&2",&,+32)+&1/5&,+/.=Y/7.+: It seemed natural ()*&0"$ !*$ 6($ !"()S$ )#!&1#,$ ()*&0"$ !"#!$ K&./$ h$ "2%$ +#!"(1$ !"($ 9*1!",(%%$ ,*#+(1$
%"*&,'$+((,$2!$h$#881*<($2!7$!"*&0"$2!$%((6%$)*9$#-%&1'?$
Q!$ %"*9%$ !"#!$ !"#!$ %!1#)0($ !"2)07$ !"($ .*)%.2().(cc!"($ &)(112)0$ 6*)2!*1cc.#)$ -($
!1#2)('$!*$#881*<($#)4$92,'$!"2)0$4*&$9#)!$2!$!*$#881*<($2+$4*&$-(02)$2!%$('&.#5*)$
(#1,4$h$%5./$!*$2!?
c$H#1/$@9#2)7$i*!(-**/$jOk
13
Resources & Bibliography
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/huckfinn/hfconcrd.html
Links to historical documents describing the controversy of the Concord Library Ban.
http://www.tolerance.org/blog/n-word-or-no-n-word-question
Article by Deborah Solomon Baker, “N-Word or No N-Word? That is the Question.” One teacher
muses on the new “censored” version of Huckleberry Finn, including thoughts from her students.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/01/sanitising_huckleberry_finn
A blogger from The Economist writes about the new Gribben edit of Huckleberry Finn, which
replaces the word “nigger” with “slave”.
14

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Transcription

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