Alas, it is reported that High Schoolers across the United States no longer read Huckleberry Finn. Is the probem Twain's use of the N-word, or so many scholars debate? What could be better than a cleaned-up version of Huck Finn? Some tome eliminating all that pesky racism...after all the references to Jim as "Nigger" only detracts from the deeper adventure tale of a young boy on his raft.
This whole topic curdles my blood. Yet the truer truth is that students across the United States aren't reading much of anything deemed "Classic Lit". Of course those in an "Honors" course will have their hand at some classics, but the average student reads less novel texts each year. Much of the current "Language Arts" courses teach from large textbooks with adapted stories for word count, reading level, and vocabulary.
CBS News report on edited Huckleberry Finn
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