Puffin is woke-washing Roald Dahl books at a terribly problematic cost to readers

Imagine if a Gen Zer was tasked with 'sensitising' Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. This is exactly what's happening to 20th-century British novelist Roald Dahl's children's books including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

What's happening: The Daily Telegraph reported that Roald Dahl's children's books were being rewritten to fit into our 'progressive' or shall I say 'woke' society (in this case). 

• The changes have been made by publisher Puffin Books, a part of Penguin Random House, and Roald Dahl Story Company (acquired by Netflix in 2021) in collaboration with Inclusive Minds.

What are the changes? If you are wondering how bad the changes can be, check out this Twitter thread:

Roald Dahl, 2001 vs 2022 editions:
In Fantastic Mr Fox a description of tractors, saying that “the machines were both black”, has been cut. “Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf”, is now plain old Bunce. pic.twitter.com/I9aUxqAI6Q

— Incunabula (@incunabula) February 18, 2023

In The Witches, the original line reads like this:

This line has been changed to:

• While Dahl may hold a stereotypical view of roles in the workplace undertaken by women, it is a representation of the 20th-century society that the novelist lived, worked, and died during. 
• This is almost like making race-conscious Bridgerton period drama under the explicit name of Jane Austen. 

Another one of the changes that were brought to Dahl's works includes this:

Changed to:

• Even 'Prince Pondicherry' is changed to 'Prince Puducherry'.
• Words relating to characters' physical appearances like "fat" and "ugly" have been culled from the new editions of the books. 

What the publishers have to say: 

Why are the changes problematic? The changes don't seem to be 'small' and the language reviewed seems to be erasing the author's entire outlook towards the society and the times he lived in. If nothing else, it is the distortion of the original work by Roald Dahl, however, 'offensive' it may seem today. 

Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PENAmerica, had this to say about the changes:

Those who might cheer specific edits to Dahl's work should consider how the power to rewrite books might be used in the hands of those who do not share their values and sensibilities. 3/13

— Suzanne Nossel (@SuzanneNossel) February 18, 2023

• Nossel argues that if one group of people can take the liberty to change the works of a dead and revered author to suit their ideology, the same can be done by someone else who shares an extreme and dangerous ideology.

How to sensitise children about the outdated language and views held in an age-old book?

If an editor, publisher or estate believes they must go beyond that, readers should be put on notice about what changes have been made and those wishing to read the work in its original form should have that opportunity. 9/13

— Suzanne Nossel (@SuzanneNossel) February 18, 2023

If Puffin can take the liberty to make Roald Dahl's books more 'woke', someone might as well change history to review the language spoken by late British PM Winston Churchill when he said: I hate people with slit eyes and pigtails. 

ALSO READ: We tried making Rudyard Kipling correct for the 21st Century reader. It did not end well