Satire: Never the Twain Shall Offend

By Laurie Baron

SAN DIEGO — The Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin Books have changed the original language in Dahl’s children’s stories to make them more inclusive and less offensive. The Mark Twain Foundation is planning to do the same for his works. Here are some of the changes:

Tom Sawyer is now described as a Melanin-challenged lad. Aunt Polly’s name has been changed to Aunt Molly since the former might imply that she was polyamorous, and the publisher wants to sell copies of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to schools in Florida. Tom is painting the fence cream color instead of whitewashing it.

Huck Finn is unhoused. He is no longer described as “”idle, and lawless, and vulgar, and bad,” but rather as an unemployed non-conformist adolescent not bound by traditional etiquette and regulations. That he wears tattered clothing and goes barefoot symbolizes his principled rejection of social norms. Huck’s father treats him poorly, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad father.

Jim is a Melanin-rich man who has quit his job because his employer never paid him. The employer is trying to capture him because he broke his contract. Even though Huck is Melanin- challenged, Jim doesn’t hold Huck responsible for his former employer’s failure to compensate him, another alteration to assure sales of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to Florida schools.  Sometimes Huck refers to Jim as Melanin-rich, but never in a derogatory way. Both escape from their hometown on a wooden raft because they understand they should use renewable resources and not pollute the Mississippi River. They are heading to Illinois because unlike Missouri it has laws prohibiting unpaid labor.

Next up for inoffensive editing: The Merchant of Venice about a successful businessman of the Hebrew persuasion who eats the same food except for pork and shellfish, is hurt by the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, and healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as his tolerant Christian neighbors.

*

Baron is professor emeritus at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via Lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com