Mark Twain is arguably America's greatest author. His ear for regional dialects rings true and his character portraits are realistic, i.e., true to the setting and his experience. Rather than censor the master's work, why not use his original language and his characters to launch discussions about values and ways of life, which is what the author intended. Sanitizing the language of Mark Twain doesn't change the facts. His words reflect a historical ugliness in America that Twain fully intended to expose to ridicule. Twain would be happy that today people view the n-word negatively, but furious about censorship. Jim is a heroic figure. The contrast between society's words and Jim's heroic actions only strengthens Mark Twain's social commentary.
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