Mario said: I don't think Himes used "moter-raper" to
circumvent censorship. I suspect this was a favorite term of
his. Maybe it was common in his formative years, though I
have never seen it used anywhere. As Mark says,
"mother-raper" is not quaint, it is at least as offensive
as
"motherfucker", and it calls attention to itself, so it would
fail as a euphemism or cloak. Himes doesn't shy away from
foul language. His characters have a full repertoire and use
it well.
*********** I've only read the one, _Cotton Comes to Harlem_,
but to me "mother-raper" seemed an obvious censorship-induced
substitute for "motherfucker". Nobody said "motherfucker".
Everybody said "mother-raper". Seemed unnatural and forced to
me. Also, the "f" word appeared nowhere in the book, either
as a standalone or as a combo.
The only place i can recall "mother-raper" is in a non-
hardboiled song by Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant," and I
believe he upped the ante with father-raper and one or two
other colorful variations.
miker
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