219 times...

That's at least once on a page...
the "n-word" I mean
in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
It is printed 219 times in that book.
I am currently reading the book since I have not read it in my life and I am finding that the purpose, the meaning of the book has absolutely nothing to do with the use of the "n-word" and everything to do with crossing the boundaries of friendship and not doing necessarily what is easy at the time, but what is right. And quite honestly, if everyone is going to get all huffy over this book, if you put it into today's perspective, how creepy is it for a young boy to be going off with a grown man not of his relation?
It's not meant to be taken in modern perspective. It is meant to be taken into the deep south perspective of the time of slavery, which in some places, I won't mention where, the thirteenth amendment wasn't ratified til around 1995 (way to go, MS).
Now, I like to believe that we, as a country and as human beings, have come a long way since then (then being from 1865, not 1995...ok, maybe 1995 if you're in MS) and can perhaps read a book of FICTION about the deep south and the way people were treated.
Good ole Samuel Clemens was a staunch supporter of abolition and emancipation. He was also known to be a humorist. Could it be that his writing of Huck Finn was a political satire of sorts? Could he be pointing out the obvious atrocities and the obvious violation of human rights to prove a point? Does anyone teach satire anymore? I think it is undervalued and under appreciated as an art form, but I digress...
Reading this book I am quite aware of the language. Does it offend me? Sometimes, yes it does. Do I get angry about it? No, I just keep reading. I want to know what's going to happen next, what story is Huck going to tell? Will Jim get his freedom?
It's a book that definitely gets you thinking, especially if you live in the South as I do, about the language, about the history, about the heritage.
As I write this I am literally walking distance away from the "White House of the South" Jefferson Davis' home when he was president of the Confederacy. Is it important to know about this? Yes. Will the South rise again? Probably not. But reading Huck Finn and being around this history inspires me and causes me to pause and think. It also makes me realize that not everyone had it easy in the quest for the American Dream and it makes me want to work a little harder to make it possible for myself and others.