Hard-left activists are turning George Orwell’s “1984” into reality.
Books are being altered in real time.
Now “woke” activists are editing “Charlies and the Chocolate Factory.”
Famed children’s author Roald Dahl must be spinning in his grave because activists are rewriting his work.
Puffin Books, a subsidiary of major publisher Penguin Random House, is editing Dahl classics like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “The Witches,” and others to be more in line with “woke” political correctness.
For example, descriptions of characters as fat have been removed.
From The Telegraph:
“‘Words matter,’ begins the discreet notice, which sits at the bottom of the copyright page of Puffin’s latest editions of Roald Dahl’s books. ‘The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most marvellous characters. This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.’ Put simply: these may not be the words Dahl wrote. The publishers have given themselves licence to edit the writer as they see fit, chopping, altering and adding where necessary to bring his books in line with contemporary sensibilities. By comparing the latest editions with earlier versions of the texts, The Telegraph has found hundreds of changes to Dahl’s stories.”
Another word that has been eliminated from the Dahl collection is “crazy.”
In the 2001 version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” one description reads, “‘Tell Charlie about that crazy Indian prince,’ said Grandma Josephine.”
In the 2022 edit, it reads, “‘Tell Charlie about that ridiculously rich Indian prince,’ said Grandma Josephine.”
The Telegraph continued:
“‘A witch is always a woman’, went the 2001 version of the book. ‘I do not wish to speak badly about women. Most women are lovely. But the fact remains that all witches are women. There is no such thing as a male witch.’ That became, simply, ‘A witch is always a woman. There is no such thing as a male witch.’ These edits mute the original sense.”
Also, the words “mother” and “father” have been replaced with “parents” to be more “inclusive” of nontraditional families.
The backlash to Puffin Books was so severe, the publishers backtracked and said the original versions of the books would remain.
The Telegraph added:
“The publisher of Roald Dahl has announced that it will produce uncensored versions of his stories following a backlash over changes to his work. Puffin UK said it would release ‘The Roald Dahl Classic Collection’, to keep the author’s ‘classic texts in print’. The publisher said it had ‘listened to the debate’ and understood there were ‘very real questions around how stories can be kept relevant for new generations’.”
Apparently, the Dahl estate signed off on all of the changes, which is not uncommon within organizations; the originator’s vision gets diluted.
For instance, Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Disney co-founder Roy E. Disney, is a “woke” activist who is content to see the company go in a hard-left direction.