Are Roald Dahl Books Racist?

[DangerousBeanz]

I've been reading a thread on a Facebook page where someone asked for recommendations for children's books. Someone suggested Roald Dahl as a good choice for characters who didn't conform to gender stereotypes, and another contributer said his books were racist.
Now I've never noticed any racism, but it kind of kicked off a bit and the recommended was told that if she couldn't see the problem she was part of the problem even though she only asked for examples of how and said she'd never noticed that aspect to the stories.
I didn't like to ask how and which books in case I got slagged off too.
So AIBU in thinking Roald Dahl children's books are fab and not racist or have I really missed something?

I always thought his books showed the awfulness in people and how they got their comeuppance.

The kids' ones, maybe.

Have a look at this

www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/david-baddiel-wont-celebrate-roald-13613538

If we boycotted RD what would happen he's dead!!

We wouldn't contribute to the white washing of his legacy as a nice guy who wrote cute kid stories instead of a vile antisemite. Personally I don't exactly see it as boycotting I just would never read his books to any future children I have because I don't want them to grow up admiring him like I did and then have the horrible shock of realising that he was perfectly fine with their ancestors being persecuted because they must've done something to deserve it.

*kid's

How interesting. Like most I loved Roald Dahl as a child and still do. I'm actually impatiently waiting the day when my DD is old enough to be read Roald Dahl too.

It might be a bit of a controversial opinion, but does his racism mean the books shouldn't be read? He came from a different period of time with different social contexts and the books are great. If there are elements of racism in there, wouldn't be much better to be able to address and explore those (in an age appropriate way)?

For example, Tom Sawyer is considered a classic and there are obviously huge references to slavery etc in them. I know it's not quite the same as they haven't been parodied in the same way, but I don't personally believe we should shun literature that references more unsavoury/wrong world views, as I'm a big believer in the notion that if you forget the past you are doomed to repeat it - so if we don't acknowledge these views existed, why they are wrong etc, then there is a bigger chance of them being carried forward.

Sorry for the rambling

I always found it slightly ironic that such an anti semite fought against nazi Germany. He led a colourful life as a spy after the war too. I agree you can tell from the twisted stories that he had a dark mind - I can't help but love his writing though.

He was also v odd with his wife. When she had a stroke he nursed her back to health, basically putting her through hellish bootcamp. Then when she recovered - he left her.

His letter to parents re measles vaccination is very moving, but the actual account of Olivia's death, which he wrote on the day and hid in a drawer where his family only found it when he himself died, is noticeably cold. She was also his favourite child - and who has a favourite child?! (Or at least if they do, who makes it well known?)

I certainly don't think we should ban his books (though I'm in favour of some sensitive editing) but great a writer as he was, I'm a bit uncomfortable with how exalted he often is within literary drives for children. It's obvious why he is often selected for it, but it does make me uneasy.

Same as you MillennialFalcon. There’s far too much of a cutesy legacy around him. I used to admire him a lot as a kid and even cried when he died. But I won’t be reading him to my DS.

I might be wrong, but isn’t there a difference between reading a book to DC that’s clearly a child of its times (making some references to very unpleasant parts of human history, for example) and reading a book that might seem benign but was written by someone with genuinely well... violent opinions (and I’m not necessarily talking about Dahl, but about literature in general)?

I think it's genuinely really interesting that the books are called racist when they're generally about the resilience and ingenuity of the powerless in the face of an oppressor.

Take Matilda, for example. The Trunchbull is a usurper (taking the place of Miss Honey's mother) and a cruel dictator who rules through brute strength. The irony of the story lies in tiny Matilda's ability to overcome that strength.

I suppose he must have been good at compartmentalisation...?! It's particularly interesting when you consider his pro-Empire views.

I always loved Dahl and will be reading the books to DS. This thread has given me new things to discuss with him when the time comes.

Has anyone mentioned sexism and The Witches yet...?

During WW2 people weren't really aware of the Holocaust, that wasn't the motivator for the war, it was that Hitler wanted to invade and claim more territory.

I remember reading Little Black Sambo when I was little, it's a story about tigers and pancakes. It was written in the 1800s so of course times have changed...it hasn't made me racist. When I was a bit older my parents explained that the book now would be frowned upon and why. How are kids meant to learn about history and culture if we are editing it out all the time? I read Beatrix Potter to my DD recently and that involves characters smoking and getting beaten up for being naughty...perhaps her entire back catalogue should also be banned . Roald Dahl is such a massive part of my childhood I can't imagine denying my daughters the pleasure of his writing. What a sad thread.

I find some of it sexist in a way. Is that part of this discussion?

There are a lot of people on this thread who cannot get their heads around the idea that people long ago had different ideas from people now. And quite a few who are prepared to suppress books for even a whiff of ideas they don’t like - as if the reader could not make up her own mind.

It’s really depressing.

I am not condoning it, but for a lot of human history, a lot of people have been strongly and openly anti-Semitic. Arguably, the Holocaust (the aftermath of, anyway) is what made anti-Semitism entirely unacceptable in polite society.

I've got a vintage book of Grimm fairytales and there are actually a couple of stories in it where the entire story revolves around Jews being dishonest, or sneaky, or getting their comeuppance. I thought I was fairly clued in but discovered that I had wildly underestimated just how acceptable anti Semitism was in the past.

Obviously I wouldn't be reading those stories to any children, but at the same time I don't feel inclined to boycott Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding hood, just because they're from the same origin.

It's very tricky, there is a definite balancing act.

You will also find a lot of misogyny, racism, references to outdated practices, etc, in many books. Within the framework of explaining the context, I wouldn't deny a child the opportunity to explore some wonderful literature just because the author had controversial (by today's standards, not necessarily their own day's) views.

We've told the DCs that RD wasn't a very nice person but wrote great books. Antisemitism was a pretty standard PoV in the early c20 on the left (Orwell, shaw) as well as the right (Chesterton, Eliot, Belloc, etc). The author's views wouldn't stop me reading the books unless the story itself had an explicitly racist narrative. Ditto the brothers Grimm, who were after all collecting folktales rather than making them up.

....... a nice guy who wrote cute kid stories instead of a vile antisemite.

Perhaps he was both of these things ?

So glad I read this thread. Means I don't have to throw out any movies with men who have been accused of sexual wrongdoings against people.

Means I can keep watching Cosby Show, seventh heaven, Christian Slater films. Old and better episodes of 2 and a half men and anything else where Charlie Sheen was good. Might actually start watching House of cards now.

But in Tom Sawyer the black characters are sympathetic. It's important to discuss that history with our children and Tom Sawyer is an excellent book to use for that.

There are lots of children's books that make uncomfortable reading these days. Our modern version of The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton still has a character called Chinky which I couldn't understand since the Magic Faraway Tree books have the chikdren's names changed for no real reason beyond fashion (Jo becomes Joe, Bessie becomes Beth). The Calormen in the Narnia books are clearly a racist stereotype of the people of the Middle East. And girls generally do quite badly in the majority of books written, em, whenever.

There are some people whose art transcends their personal views or actions.

Dahl may well have been an anti-Semite but his writing is sublime and engages young children across the globe in worlds specifically designed for them.

Michael Jackson may well have been pedophile but his music was cutting edge and still sounds as new today as it was in the 1980s.

There are probably other examples but at 7am those are the two that pop into mind.

Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) was, like most of the artistic class of his era, probably high on laudanum when he wrote his marvellous novel. There is also plenty of suggestion that he had a sexual proclivity for children, as shown in his artistic sketches of young girls.

Does this mean his work is any less worthwhile?

No. They are not racist. Just because someone says the are doesn't mean they are