An English professor at Auburn University Montgomery (Alabama) has recently sparked a firestorm of criticism for his decision to edit two Mark Twain classics. Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both read by generations of schoolchildren, contain frequent usage of racially insensitive language. However, they are also products of their time. The books were written by an author who used dialogue authentic to the period, as objectionable as it is to us in this day. The controversy among Twain scholars and the general public has been substantial. But until recently, the professor held a completely different attitude altogether.
