tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post4884196742242588975..comments2024-01-13T21:31:23.388-05:00Comments on Reading While White: Looking Back: Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald DahlReading While Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07807138877345669931noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-89891146310017076952017-09-17T12:41:11.104-04:002017-09-17T12:41:11.104-04:00Yes, I heard something similar on NPR yesterday. ...Yes, I heard something similar on NPR yesterday. Both the NYT and the NPR articles examine the question of Dahl's views on anti-semitism as well. Interesting reads.<br /><br />http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/16/551528425/roald-dahl-s-widow-says-charlie-from-the-chocolate-factory-was-originally-black<br /><br />On a related note, NPR today ran a story that looked at the complicated racial biases in the "Little House" books: http://www.npr.org/2017/09/17/551604403/-little-house-on-the-prairie-author-is-150Carol Simon Levinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06011967636995998634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-28027057212229523922017-09-16T09:44:30.765-04:002017-09-16T09:44:30.765-04:00Thank you for all the work you do writing these es...Thank you for all the work you do writing these essays, I've been following for a while. It's one thing to read and be aware or try to learn awareness but totally different thing to put the work in and take the risks of sharing your experiences and insights online of all places.<br />This is the second Charlie / Roald Dahl related thing I've read recently. I found the reporting of the following 'revelation'fascinating and wished there had been more investigation and explanation : https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/books/roald-dahl-charlie-black.html.<br />It's too bad that some things were edited / manipulated while others were left or delayed that could have radically changed the books we had when growing up.khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18363370972436773423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-55431938654958507462017-09-16T09:09:19.314-04:002017-09-16T09:09:19.314-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Moyridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109060979165835871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-85814152439219857282017-09-16T09:07:48.388-04:002017-09-16T09:07:48.388-04:00This is really insightful. Thanks for posting. I, ...This is really insightful. Thanks for posting. I, like you, have Roald Dahl to thank for me becoming a reader. Not with this book, which I never liked, but I'm sure the issues in his writing are not limited to this book. I struggled as a reader. I couldn't quite get a handle on it, and his books made it fun. And part of the allure was he was naughty. He wasn't proper. This post doesn't surprise me. I've known this about his work, even if I didn't want to admit it. But I think we let ourselves off the hook when we think we loved his work because they were the first books we read, or because a teacher made them so cool, or because they were popular. That, too, is our white fragility. I think we can be honest that we didn't see the "isms", and that we should have. That we can learn from this, that we can do better, and that we can teach our kids better. And I love that you end your post with that sentiment, we can acknowledge that Roald Dahl helped teach us to become readers, but he maybe also taught us something unpleasant about ourselves and others. And now we're moving on because we want something better for ourselves and our kids.Moyridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109060979165835871noreply@blogger.com