Is this an improvement? Is this necessary? Will this classic now be able to be read by fifth graders despite a complex storyline?
I think not. Twain wrote this book in the 1800s, a time chalked full of racism and the "n" word. By no means does his usage of this derogatory word support discrimination, but rather it accurately describes the era he was writing in.
Chapter Six of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" uses this banned word lavishly. However, it is used by Huck's father, a drunk, uneducated and disrespected man. He complains about a black man while drinking "enough whisky there for two drunks and one delirium tremens" (25). His drunken rant contained one of many telling lines such as, "if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that n***** vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin" (24). Pap's racism is clearly extreme and most readers would read this passage with disgust. This man is a drunk, who decided never to vote again because a black man was allowed to vote. Most readers do not desire to be like Pap, and therefore do not want to have characteristics of him (such as intense racism). His decision was nonsensical and ridiculous as it was evidently questionable whether this man even had the restraint to show up to the polls sober.
By eliminating the "n" word, one is attempting to overlook a crucial part of American history and to undermine the peaceful message this book portrays.
For more views here are some educated viewpoints on this new edition of a timeless classic:
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/05/132685293/Sanitized-Edition-Of-Huckleberry-Finn-Causes-Uproar
http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/04/huckleberry-finn-to-be-published-without-the-n-word/
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