Since its publication in 1885, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain has been challenged for a variety of flaws. Many schools have experienced protests to the book being taught in the educational curriculum, and in their libraries. Challenging, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," from the curriculum, comes from the, "books frequent use of the 'n-word'-- 219 times by one count, 215 by another." To address the protests that the book has stirred up, the publisher New South Books followed with a new edition of Twain's classic, substituting, "nigger," with, "slave", as well as, "Indian," for, "injun." The idea to change the, "n-word," to, "slave," was proposed to the publisher by English professor, Alan Gribben. It came from his belief that, "the pervasive use of the n-word makes it difficult for the reader to understand or absorb the book." Since the new edition's release, controversy still lingers whether, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," should be allowed to be a part of the required curriculum, and taught its original format. However, even the substation is not pleasing for those who support the original format, and view substitution as an action avoiding American history, and unfairly modifying classic American literature.
Mark Twain's, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," portrays a dark part of America's history, through the eyes of a young white boy, Huck. Throughout the novel, readers learn the culture, customs, and language that were commonly used among southern people during the time period that Twain wrote the novel. The language that they were so commonly use to speaking then, is viewed as unacceptable today. Such language that was custom of nineteenth century America was the racial slur, "nigger," which was utilized as a degrading term for African-Americans. It is the use of the word, 219 times, that makes it such a frequently challenged book.
