tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post7280336872224818455..comments2024-03-09T05:53:59.542-05:00Comments on Oz and Ends: Standing Up for the Public DomainUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-80737319587875749732011-01-09T15:09:05.010-05:002011-01-09T15:09:05.010-05:00Thank you for pointing out my mistake, and for exp...Thank you for pointing out my mistake, and for expressing your views.<br /><br />My point in this “Standing Up for the Public Domain” posting is that I think it <i>is</i> okay to adapt and alter texts that are in the public domain, as long as one is clear about what one is selling. The original texts survive, and the public chooses which have value for what purpose.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-68920384624313173092011-01-09T09:00:08.502-05:002011-01-09T09:00:08.502-05:00Erasing and replacing *Twain's* words was what...Erasing and replacing *Twain's* words was what I was talking about, JL. I hope you'll reconsider.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-59462684485600713472011-01-07T21:46:10.956-05:002011-01-07T21:46:10.956-05:00I didn’t “erase” any of the words you’ve posted he...I didn’t “erase” any of the words you’ve posted here anonymously. Please don’t suggest I did.<br /><br />I responded to this statement from you: <i>It's disingenuous to say that the students can go look up other editions when no reasonable person would expect that they would.</i> I pointed out what I see as two fallacies in that argument.<br /><br />Now I come to this topic having read both <i>Tom Sawyer</i> and <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> on my own as a kid; I never studied them in school. I therefore reject the suggestion that kids won’t read those books unless they’re assigned.<br /><br />Your sarcastic comment suggests that <i>Tom Sawyer</i> and <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> are unpopular. In fact, they’re the most popular works of nineteenth-century American literature. There are dozens of editions and adaptations, as well as stage and movie versions. Except for <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, I don’t think any other common curricular American novel commands such an audience outside of schools.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-4726906298853664962011-01-07T19:23:04.272-05:002011-01-07T19:23:04.272-05:00You seem to believe that no kids would be curious ...<i>You seem to believe that no kids would be curious about seeing a “forbidden” text that also happens to be widely and cheaply available.</i><br /><br />Of course! That's why the book is flying off the shelves and has been for all these years. Oh, wait . . no it hasn't.<br /><br />Yep. We disagree. Also, clearly, about whether it is okay to put words in people's mouths, and also to erase the words they said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-32771223789983292632011-01-07T13:55:22.383-05:002011-01-07T13:55:22.383-05:00Anonymous, no reasonable person would suggest that...Anonymous, no reasonable person would suggest that students given Gribben’s edition of Twain’s novels would have to look up one of the many complete copies of those books to understand what the novels originally said. The introduction clearly states what words have been changed. <br /><br />You seem to believe that no kids would be curious about seeing a “forbidden” text that also happens to be widely and cheaply available. I disagree.<br /><br />As for your comments about adding paragraphs to the Gettysburg Address and such, that moves into the territory I described in yesterday’s <a href="http://ozandends.blogspot.com/2011/01/cutting-through-huck-finn-weeds.html" rel="nofollow">point 5</a>.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-16855620513095728562011-01-07T09:36:46.440-05:002011-01-07T09:36:46.440-05:00I thought of the Zombie-Austens when I read your e...I thought of the Zombie-Austens when I read your earlier post, but I don't see your argument. There are a lot of things that are legal, that I want to be legal and that I think are reprehensible. The Westboro Baptist Church, for an extreme example.<br /><br />This isn't so extreme, but I still think it is wrong-headed and counter-productive and the more people who say so, the happier I am.<br /><br />This isn't like the Zombie Austens. Teachers are not going to assign Pride and Prejudice and Zombies instead of the original, but that switch is exactly Mr. Gribben's intent with the NewSouth publication. It's disingenuous to say that the students can go look up other editions when no reasonable person would expect that they would.<br /><br />People have said many things that we, with hindsight, think were mistaken. Should we change them? Should we tack on another helpful paragraph to the Gettysburg address? Should we edit out the phrase "infernal abolitionists" from Twain's earlier work? No, because these are things people SAID. You don't put words in people's mouths, and you don't take them out of the historical record. Huckleberry Finn, in the same way, is what Twain *said*. Mr. Gribbens is altering history, taking some words out of Twain's mouth and putting others in. Legal, yes. Justifiable? Not to me.<br /><br />It's wrong headed and counter-productive because it is just another kind of white-washing. In this day in our society, this word in a book has such power to wound, so we are going to change . . . the book. <br /><br />I'll reiterate my comment from the earlier post. If students can't deal with the material, there's nothing to be gained by making them read it. There's nothing to be gained by giving them a white-washed version of it, either. If students can't read this book, then it's an indictment of our society and the education we are providing. The problem isn't in the book, it is in us. Altering the book just helps to obscure that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-21010478717631040792011-01-06T23:34:40.990-05:002011-01-06T23:34:40.990-05:00A thought after posting: If someone had taken the ...A thought after posting: If someone had taken the text of <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> and rewritten it as <i>Huck Finn, Zombie Hunter</i>, that would clearly have been a bigger change than this “NewSouth” edition. <br /><br />It would be impossible to miss those changes, but equally the editor’s introduction makes it impossible to miss how the “NewSouth” edition differs from the original.<br /><br />Would <i>Huck Finn, Zombie Hunter</i> have inspired so many outraged blog postings and newspaper editorials?J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.com