The Wokies Come for Children’s Literature

Roald Dahl is a classic author for children. Or at least everyone knows his work. He was the author of classics such as Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Matilda. BFG. James and the Giant Peach. More.

Now, we are waking up Re-writing his books To make them more political correct.

Here are some changes, as per The Telegraph.

In MatildaThe term “mothers and fathers” This is being replaced by “parents.” The phrase “turning white” This is being replaced by “turning pale.” An explanation of what a “plain plump person” It has been edited to remove the word “plump.” The meaning of a passage which describes an unattentive student being having “no hearing-organs” is completely removed and replaced. (Ableism! Or something. There are many more.

In James and The Giant PeachThe “cloud men” You can now find the “cloud people.” The “policemen and firemen” You can now “police officers and firefighters.” The description of a “queer ramshackle house” has been re-written to reflect the aforementioned “strange ramshackle house.” Numerous descriptions of characters that are fat have been removed. An earlier reference to elephant hunters being killed is gone and replaced by them killing generic. “prey.”

It gets even weirder from there.

In Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, descriptions of August Gloop are watered down to greatly reduce references to his extreme obesity — even though that’s a central aspect of the child’s character. The text completely eliminates any references to Mike Teavee’s toys guns.

Meanwhile, the Oompa Loompas are made gender-neutral—and their entire origin story is rewritten so it no longer involves their tribe’s capture and transportation to Willy Wonka’s factory but is instead a harmonious and voluntary arrangement.

These are just a handful of examples from some of his most renowned works. However, the entire list of revisions can be overwhelming in their scope. The publisher is working with a firm that provides these services to make the changes in compliance with the Dahl family. “sensitivity readers” To supposedly make a text more interesting, you can edit it. “inclusive.” In reality, however, it is a sloppy attack on literature that only serves to piss on classics.

Let’s not forget that these books contain outdated language and are a blessing for many people. This is an extremely heavy-handed way to go. “solution” It is impossible to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. It also contradicts everything that makes literature worthwhile.

It doesn’t mean you have to believe everything I say. The CEO of PEN America (a liberal-leaning literature organization that defends literary freedom expression) has come out against this Orwellian act.

“At PEN America we are alarmed at news of “Hundreds of changes” to venerated works by Roald Dahl in a purported effort to scrub the books of that which might offend someone,” Suzanne Nossel . “The problem with taking license to re-edit classic works is that there is no limiting principle.  You start out wanting to replace a word here and a word there, and end up inserting entirely new ideas (as has been done to Dahl’s work).”

“Literature is meant to be surprising and provocative. That’s part of its potency. By setting out to remove any reference that might cause offense you dilute the power of storytelling. Better than playing around with these texts is to offer introductory context that prepares people for what they are about to read, and helps them understand the setting in which it was written.”

Salmon Rushdie, an icon of free expression and literary legend, condemned the rewriting.

Roald Dahl is not an angel, but this is absurdcensorship. Puffin Books, the Dahl estate, and all of their censorship should be shamed. https://t.co/sdjMfBr7WW

— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) February 18, 2023

They are right on the money.

Dahl was a flawed man. Yes, as with most books written decades ago his works contain outdated language and references that one would not use today. However, this is an opportunity to provide context and discussion to the readers and not to retroactively de-censor the masterpieces of a deceased author.

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