Huckleberry Finn/ chapters 1-6

[Aquarius]

What a joy it is to read this book! Yes, the content is sometimes dark, but the descriptions of life in that place, at that time, are so evocative I feel that I am there. What a writer Twain was! I felt a sense of engagement with Huck from the very first pages, even though our life experiences are poles apart.
I read the author's notes about the languages used with some trepidation; I usually feel that if a book needs to be explained then the author hasn't written it well enough. However, I love the language used and I don't find it difficult read. In truth, there are so many variations in the ways that language is used in real life that we are accustomed to 'decoding' conversations on a regular basis; this probably wouldn't present a huge problem for anyone today. This may not have been true when Twain wrote it.

[JulianTheApostate]

Possibly because I heard so much about the N word, I was not shocked while reading it. The shocking part for me was the violence from Hucks father.

I agree; the violence bothered me far more than a racial slur could. For that matter, the brutal nature of slavery bothers me far more than an insulting term. Actions matter far more to me than words, but the fuss over the term "nigger" indicates that many people have a different reaction.

[Chris OConnor]

I think most of the fuss over the "N" word in The Adventures of Huck Finn came from people that never even read this masterpiece.