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Re-writing Twain: Adendum

The best thing about rants, at least among the civilized, is that someone smart always makes a valid point to the contrary. My fellow University of Alaska Anchorage classmate, Wendy, directed me to this column, written recently for the New York Times by a writer I admire, Lorrie Moore. She's on both sides of editing Twain issue, and for good reason, posing the notion that maybe Mark Twain was never intended to be children's literature and that that is the problem. Give it a read, then tell me what you think, if you're so inclined. It was Flannery O'Connor who said, "The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information to last him the rest of his days."  No matter how idyllic one's childhood, no matter how hard grown ups try to protect their young charges, trauma happens, sometimes the likes of which no child should endure. Stories that reflect this are often the fodder for great literature, stories not necessarily suitable for young readers. I'm with Moore. Send Huck Finn to college, where it can be discussed critically, and where students are mature enough to understand its historical context.
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Erin Anais Hanson said…
I just started reading Huckleberry Finn for the first time. It was on my reading list for this year, and maybe since it's been in the news it occurred to me to actually pick it up. There's a preface by Twain in which he describes the different dialects that he uses and that they are all purposeful, which makes me think it is especially silly to edit out any of the language he used. I've been surprised at how brutal the book is, and I think you and Moore are right, it makes a lot more sense for this book to be read in a university comparative literature class than in a sophomore high school English class.
1:14 PM
Toni said…
Thanks, Erin. I appreciate your first-hand viewpoint. It's been a long time since I've read Huck Finn, so maybe it's time for a re-read, from an adult and a writer's perspective. I've recently read To Kill a Mockingbird, admittedly for the first time. It too is brilliant, deserving of its classic status, and like Huck, not a children's story.
9:36 PM
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