Roald Dahl’s Works Spark Debate on Censorship and Changing Language of Literature

The works of best-selling children’s author Roald Dahl have been met with criticism after changes were made to the language in current editions of his books. According to The Telegraph, Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House, and the Roald Dahl Story Company have made hundreds of changes to the language in Dahl’s books, which have sold more than 300 million copies and have been translated into 63 languages.

The changes include altering the description of the “enormously fat” 9-year-old boy in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to “enormous,” changing the “Cloud-Men” from “James and the Giant Peach” to “Cloud-People,” removing the description of Miss Trunchbull, the principal in “Matilda,” having a “horsey” face, and changing “eight nutty little idiots” to “eight nutty little boys.”

Leading writers, including Booker prizewinner Salman Rushdie, have expressed anger at the changes, branding them “absurd censorship.” The Roald Dahl Story Company has defended the changes, saying they are “respectful of the spirit of the stories,” and that they are “committed to diversity and inclusion.”

The changes to Dahl’s works have sparked a debate about censorship and the changing language of literature. While some argue that the changes are necessary to make the books more inclusive, others believe that the changes are unnecessary and that Dahl’s works should remain untouched.