Quote :

"Dear Amazon.com Customer, As someone who has purchased or rated books by Joseph Conrad, you might like to know that The N-word of the Narcissus is now available. You can order yours for just $9.99 by following the link below. Product Description WordBridge Publishing has performed a public service in putting Joseph Conrad's neglected classic into a form accessible to modern readers. This new version addresses the reason for its neglect: the profusion of the so-called n-word throughout its pages. Hence, the introduction of "n-word" throughout the text, to remove this offence to modern sensibilities. The N-word of the Narcissus tells the tale of a fateful voyage of a British sailing ship, and on that voyage the ability of a lone black man to take the crew hostage. The ability of this man to manipulate an entire ship's crew can no longer be seen as a mere exercise in storytelling. Conrad in fact appears to have been the first to highlight the phenomenon of manipulation based in white guilt."

For anyone not familiar with Conrad:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nigger_of_the_'Narcissus'

Is it really necessary to take a 19th century novella about the nature of racism and altruism and go through it one page at a time and replace the work "nigger" with "n-word"?

12/25/2009 5:42:17 PM

yes, yes it is.

12/25/2009 5:46:51 PM

^^ Take it to soapbox asshole.

12/25/2009 5:49:30 PM

no, no it isn't.

12/25/2009 5:49:30 PM

jeepers we're just wrapped up in faggots!

we can counter this by transforming the fruity phrase "n-word" into an insult just as incendiary as nigger is

12/25/2009 5:57:33 PM

N-word is not the preferred nomenclature






from the wiki:

Quote :

"The unfortunately titled The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (titled Children of the Sea in the first American edition) is Conrad's best work of his early period. In fact, were it not for the book's title, it undoubtedly would be read more often than it is currently."

12/25/2009 6:58:35 PM

yeah thanks wikipedia

anyone who contributes to that website is officially on my hit list

12/25/2009 7:52:33 PM

[Edited on December 25, 2009 at 8:24 PM. Reason : edit]

12/25/2009 7:54:29 PM

Joseph Conrad is the most unreadable author I have ever encountered

his sentences give me headaches

him and Nietzsche

12/26/2009 1:31:17 AM

Louis C.K. pretty much sums up how i feel about this whole issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqwj--wGEgY

12/26/2009 11:49:12 AM

this is fucking absurd


why are people so afraid of words?

12/26/2009 12:52:40 PM

well, words have meaning

I don't particularly like being called a stupid, worthless asshole, even though stupid, worthless and asshole are just words

12/26/2009 2:15:06 PM

They could have switched it to 'negro' or something else less silly than 'n-word'

12/26/2009 2:22:44 PM

Heaven forbid people understand the history of the word and why it's offensive.

12/26/2009 7:07:28 PM

bttt for modern sensibilities.

1/6/2010 2:32:36 PM

sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

1/6/2010 2:33:56 PM

If I ever own a ship it will be named "C-word".

1/6/2010 2:53:06 PM

1/6/2010 4:41:39 PM

Quote :

"New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the 'n' word What is a word worth? According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remove all instances of the “n” word—I’ll give you a hint, it’s not nonesuch—present in the text and replace it with slave. The new book will also remove usage of the word Injun. The effort is spearheaded by Twain expert Alan Gribben, who says his PC-ified version is not an attempt to neuter the classic but rather to update it. “Race matters in these books,” Gribben told PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.” Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling “Censorship!” as well as others with thesauruses yelling “Bowdlerization!” and “Comstockery!” Their position is understandable: Twain’s book has been one of the most often misunderstood novels of all time, continuously being accused of perpetuating the prejudiced attitudes it is criticizing, and it’s a little disheartening to see a cave-in to those who would ban a book simply because it requires context. On the other hand, if this puts the book into the hands of kids who would not otherwise be allowed to read it due to forces beyond their control (overprotective parents and the school boards they frighten), then maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. It’s unfortunate, but is it really any more catastrophic than a TBS-friendly re-edit of The Godfather, you down-and-dirty melon farmer? The original product is changed for the benefit of those who, for one reason or another, are not mature enough to handle it, but as long as it doesn’t affect the original, is there a problem? What do you think, Shelf-Lifers? Unnecessary censorship or necessary evil?"

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/?hpt=T2

1/4/2011 12:33:39 PM

Haha I heard this earlier on the radio. Why don't they go ahead and paraphrase Shakespeare too so it can be better received by today's dopey audience.

1/4/2011 12:37:20 PM

Quote :

"Is it really necessary to take a 19th century novella about the nature of racism and altruism and go through it one page at a time and replace the work "nigger" with "n-word"?"

No

It's also not necessary to read the edited version

1/4/2011 12:38:49 PM

Quote :

"him and Nietzsche "

Pick up the Kaufmann translations of Nietzsche; if you're talking about the Kaufmann translations then wtf is you on

Quote :

"this is fucking absurd why are people so afraid of words?"

Yeah why would people be offended by being reminded of their disadvantaged social position

Quote :

"Heaven forbid people understand the history of the word and why it's offensive."

qft

1/4/2011 12:41:19 PM

^^^^ That's sad. If anything we should use books like Huck Finn to teach a lesson about context and societal changes.

Quote :

"Heaven forbid people understand the history of the word and why it's offensive."

So true.



[Edited on January 4, 2011 at 12:47 PM. Reason : s]

1/4/2011 12:45:45 PM

NECESSARY?!

Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine?

No! But I do it anyway, cause it's sterile and I like the taste.

1/4/2011 12:51:26 PM

Quote :

"Is it really necessary to take a 19th century novella about the nature of racism and altruism and go through it one page at a time and replace the work "nigger" with "n-word"?"

of course not

"search and replace" is much faster

1/4/2011 1:01:47 PM

Quote :

"Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling 'Censorship!' as well as others with thesauruses yelling 'Bowdlerization!' and 'Comstockery!'"

ehehehehehehehehehehehehe

1/4/2011 2:55:47 PM