A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, By H. G. Wells

Improved Essays
For many years, the English department at the University of Virginia has been editing classic novels. Classics such as Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” H. G. Wells’ “The Time Machine,” or Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” have been revised by a member of the English department at U.Va. They work to connect to a more general, modern, audience rather than other scholars. Many are opposed to the editing of classic literature, for example, the NAACP declares “You don 't ban Mark Twain—you explain Mark Twain. To study an idea is not necessarily to endorse the idea. Mark Twain 's satirical novel, Huckleberry Finn, accurately portrays a time in history…and one of its evils, slavery.” The novels of that time period truthfully expose the evils of the world. The general public …show more content…
Way back when, the material was a reality, why is it not appropriate now? When Mark Twain wrote his infamous novel, the language he used was the common vernacular of that time. That was the way of life back then, they don’t always say things like we would like them to. History is not something that we can change, only learn from. Literature is to be cherished, not destroyed. Ernest Hemingway wrote once “All modern American Literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.’ ” That one iconic book has been banned and censored; now updated and “improved.” Novels are reproduced in a “postmodernist” approach to connect better with readers. Jerome McGann and Peter Shillingsburg’s work in particular has prompted the “postmodernist” style. The editor is not producing the “best text of a given work” but instead to generate something for the reader to understand as fully as possible. Literary creativity is taken away when the material is altered in a way to diminish its literary value. The traditional way the story was written is stolen when the new author brings a fresh

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