Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Political Correctness or Newspeak? (Lord of the Flies and 1984)

The edition of Lord of the Flies that we read at AUA is published in New York, and the Perigee editors have changed a word. On page 180, Golding originally has Piggy describe Jack's group as "a pack of painted niggers", not "Indians" (Golding & Epstein, 1954). British editions, such as the Faber and Faber edition, continue to use the original niggers (Golding, 1997, p. 200).

Do you think that the American publisher was right to change the word niggers to Indians?
__________
References
Golding, W., (1997). Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber.
Golding, W., & Epstein, E. L. (1954). Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee.
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7 comments:

  1. Pym Jewellery9 December 2010 at 01:13

    I agree with American publisher to change the word because it's sound better! As I read "a pack of painted Indians"(Golding & Epstein, 1954,p.180, I can imagine to Jack and his group's face immidiatly. They painted face like Indain tribe that harmonize with nature or animal, so it accord with those hunters who attend to hunt and kill.

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  2. Gift9 December 2010 at 02:14

    I agree with Pim that it is sound better when the word is changed to be Indians. Because some words can affect in wide area, it should be changed to remove some problems out though some meaning is changed a bit.

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  3. NAAM9 December 2010 at 07:31

    The American publisher was wrong to change that word. It changes which is good for selling the novel, which keeps producing. Changing the word does not serve to maintain the real meaning and sense to what writer want to say. Readers should not accept this.

    According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, nigger means “a very offensive word for a black person” , and Indian means “a member of any of the races of people who were the original people living in America” or “a person from India.” It’s completely different. Actually the American publisher should do another way and the meaning does not misunderstand. Sometime, for a very offensive word, it has nothing to change.

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  4. A9 December 2010 at 09:25

    The American publisher was wrong to change to "Indian". At least, they might look up more proper word instead of it. The word "nigger" or "indian" concerns about discrimination in the real societies in US. In novel, as you know, all acts of Jack and his servants are bad in the people way. If I were Negro or Indian, I would not like very much that Golding defines my race via Piggy's opinion as a bad, cruel and disorder race.

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  5. Cristina10 December 2010 at 09:30

    I agree with NK that “Changing the word does not serve to maintain the real meaning and sense to what writer want to say”, and I add, it also does not allow to better know and understand the real English society of that period. Anyway Piggy wants to insult Jack’s group, he needs an emotional discharge after all these tensions, oppressions he lives by Jack and his group, he is a child, he repeat what does he learns from his family, his friends, society, to say nigger means Jack’s group are the worse and he really wants to say that, at that time nigger was use like that like today. In the other hand, to change nigger by Indian, I also disagree because in that context Indian is very offensive too. How do the American publisher prefer to offense the Indian and not the black?

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  6. Net12 December 2010 at 09:39

    I completely disagree with that because the American Publisher should consider about the effect of the word to the real Indian. This question remind me to recognize about Thai government who try to change the word Hea to Woranuch which is the name of people and it does effect toward those people who name is woranuch in their daily life.

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  7. Net12 December 2010 at 09:43

    Moreover, it totally does not change the meaning of it . When I heard woranuch, the word Hea always popup in my mind as well. It likes a word that belong to each other.

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