GoodReads discussion: Racism in children's literature
A couple of comments I made on a discussion of children's literature and poetry over on GoodReads:
I wonder, are modern editions of A Child's Garden of Verses censored? I grew up with it myself, and I remember some expressions that might make some modern readers uncomfortable. Let me see, I suppose it's probably in the public domain now...
Ah yes:
Poem XXVIII
Foreign Children
Little Indian, Sioux, or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
You have seen the scarlet trees
And the lions over seas;
You have eaten ostrich eggs,
And turned the turtles off their legs.
Such a life is very fine,
But it's not so nice as mine:
You must often as you trod,
Have wearied NOT to be abroad.
You have curious things to eat,
I am fed on proper meat;
You must dwell upon the foam,
But I am safe and live at home.
Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
http://robert-louis-stevenson.classic-literature.co.uk/a-childs-garden-of-verses/ebook-page-06.asp
Personally I can't stand censorship in any form, but I wouldn't be surprised if expurgated versions are the only ones being sold these days!
Personally, I prefer to read the original versions to my son, and then discuss any troubling issues that might be raised. He's eventually going to be exposed to racism no matter how much I try to shield him, and this way I can make sure that he both understands the historical context and knows that racism isn't appropriate or acceptable. If I try to maintain a cordon sanitaire around his mind, he'll risk being swept away by the first appealing presentation of racist ideas that he encounters!
For example, I've read the unexpurgated editions of the Doctor Dolittle books to him, and discussed the characters of Prince Bumpo and the various "savages" and "natives" in the books (not to mention the always-recidivistic Matthew Mugg, the Cat's Meat Man). I think it's also important to note that the actual intent of Hugh Lofting, for example, was NOT racist. Prince Bumpo may be comic relief, and a stereotype of the colonialist Englishman's view of "savage" Africans, but he is clearly represented as good-hearted, loyal, and brave; he is, in fact, a member of the Dolittle family.
My son loves Bumpo, but he also understands that Bumpo is a comic, silly character, and that he is not a representation of "real" people of African ancestry. And for the record, we've had no problems at all with his interactions with schoolmates of other ethnic backgrounds; the issue of race is essentially meaningless for him.
I can't help but think of the many who have censored Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn over the years, entirely missing the profoundly anti-racist nature of that work.
I wonder, are modern editions of A Child's Garden of Verses censored? I grew up with it myself, and I remember some expressions that might make some modern readers uncomfortable. Let me see, I suppose it's probably in the public domain now...
Ah yes:
Poem XXVIII
Foreign Children
Little Indian, Sioux, or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
You have seen the scarlet trees
And the lions over seas;
You have eaten ostrich eggs,
And turned the turtles off their legs.
Such a life is very fine,
But it's not so nice as mine:
You must often as you trod,
Have wearied NOT to be abroad.
You have curious things to eat,
I am fed on proper meat;
You must dwell upon the foam,
But I am safe and live at home.
Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
http://robert-louis-stevenson.classic-literature.co.uk/a-childs-garden-of-verses/ebook-page-06.asp
Personally I can't stand censorship in any form, but I wouldn't be surprised if expurgated versions are the only ones being sold these days!
Personally, I prefer to read the original versions to my son, and then discuss any troubling issues that might be raised. He's eventually going to be exposed to racism no matter how much I try to shield him, and this way I can make sure that he both understands the historical context and knows that racism isn't appropriate or acceptable. If I try to maintain a cordon sanitaire around his mind, he'll risk being swept away by the first appealing presentation of racist ideas that he encounters!
For example, I've read the unexpurgated editions of the Doctor Dolittle books to him, and discussed the characters of Prince Bumpo and the various "savages" and "natives" in the books (not to mention the always-recidivistic Matthew Mugg, the Cat's Meat Man). I think it's also important to note that the actual intent of Hugh Lofting, for example, was NOT racist. Prince Bumpo may be comic relief, and a stereotype of the colonialist Englishman's view of "savage" Africans, but he is clearly represented as good-hearted, loyal, and brave; he is, in fact, a member of the Dolittle family.
My son loves Bumpo, but he also understands that Bumpo is a comic, silly character, and that he is not a representation of "real" people of African ancestry. And for the record, we've had no problems at all with his interactions with schoolmates of other ethnic backgrounds; the issue of race is essentially meaningless for him.
I can't help but think of the many who have censored Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn over the years, entirely missing the profoundly anti-racist nature of that work.