What I will do this summer...
Student 1: ...Paint a fence like Tom Sawyer!
Student 2: You bonehead! Tom Sawyer never painted that fence. Here, give me your pencil. You have to write how he tricked his friends into painting...it...for...
Every few years some naive/uncritical reader discovers that Twain used language that is now considered inappropriate and demands that his books be censored/banned. Some places have actually removed the books rather than trying to educate the ignorant and (possibly) ineducable. To a critical reader it is pretty obvious that Twain was a critic of racism but, to get that, you have to, not only read, but actually understand his work.
I read both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to my daughters when they were 8 or 9 or so; I warned them in advance about use of the “N” word throughout, and explained that the word was in common usage then and did not have the negative connotations it has acquired since. Also that it came in large part from the southern pronunciation of the word negro. With that understanding, they had no trouble with it. My biggest disappointment came when one of them didn’t like Tom Sawyer because in her view it didn’t have enough plot; to be fair, it is a lot more reminiscing about Twain’s boyhood than actual storytelling.
Varnes over 9 years ago
Heee!
KZ71 over 9 years ago
Walked RIGHT INTO that one!!!
1MadHat Premium Member over 9 years ago
That used to be called “leading with your chin”.
vwdualnomand over 9 years ago
too bad that tom sawyer and huck finn are still banned in some schools and libraries.
JanLC over 9 years ago
Actually, Tom did paint part of that fence. He started it, in order to prove how much fun it was to his friends.
Fido (aka Felix Rex) Premium Member over 9 years ago
Brilliant.
Boise Ed Premium Member over 9 years ago
Super. Especially since just last night, I watched the Ken Burns show about Mark Twain.
rshive over 9 years ago
Nuts!
Boise Ed Premium Member over 9 years ago
If you hadn’t written …
rbenzar over 9 years ago
I think that one might be Caulfield-worthy trickery.
gaslightguy over 9 years ago
“Madeth thou look”. Oldest trick in the book.
androgenoide over 9 years ago
Every few years some naive/uncritical reader discovers that Twain used language that is now considered inappropriate and demands that his books be censored/banned. Some places have actually removed the books rather than trying to educate the ignorant and (possibly) ineducable. To a critical reader it is pretty obvious that Twain was a critic of racism but, to get that, you have to, not only read, but actually understand his work.
doctorwho29 over 9 years ago
I love this one
childe_of_pan almost 7 years ago
I read both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to my daughters when they were 8 or 9 or so; I warned them in advance about use of the “N” word throughout, and explained that the word was in common usage then and did not have the negative connotations it has acquired since. Also that it came in large part from the southern pronunciation of the word negro. With that understanding, they had no trouble with it. My biggest disappointment came when one of them didn’t like Tom Sawyer because in her view it didn’t have enough plot; to be fair, it is a lot more reminiscing about Twain’s boyhood than actual storytelling.