The Famous Five - Enid Blyton

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Chris Dutton
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The Famous Five - Enid Blyton

Post by Chris Dutton »

I'm not sure if this has found it's way significantly across the pond to the US, but hey!

I read these over and over again as a kid; I thought I'd try reading the series again as a 40-something adult, as I'd loved them so.

There are many things I didn't pick up on as a kid:

Snobbish and patronising attitudes
Elitism
Casual racism

I hate all four of them (but not the dog :lol: )

Anyone else feel the same at this series?
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Post by ananya92 »

Well, I quite agree that viewed in a different light today, there are quite a few things wrong with the series. Like racist references in the book "Five go to Smuggling Top", where they refer to a character as 'Sooty' based on his skin colour. The books also appear as naive at some level when read now. However, I cannot deny that I enjoyed reading them as a kid and the way Blyton constructed the world of adventure around the four kids and their dog was something that could transport a kid into a different world. I think one has to give Blyton the excuse of the time period in which she was writing.
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NGosney
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Post by NGosney »

I definitely enjoyed reading them when I was young, and to be honest I don't think children pick up on the same things that an adult would, therefore that kind of thing doesn't matter.

I don't know of anybody who has grown up racist due to having read Enid Blyton.

My 9 year old daughter loves Enid Blyton - not just the Famous Five, but many of her other books as well, and she has absolutely no judgement of other people of a different skin colour or race to herself at all. The issue of racism has never come up in our household, so it simply isn't a concept to her (or to my other children). Other people are just other people, that's all there is to it really. Skin colour is irrelevant.
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Post by debbiebee »

This is such a tricky subject, related to the one about 'correcting' children's books to suit our modern sensibilities. My own opinion is that you can't and shouldn't try to rewrite books as such, as times and opinions DO change, which I think even youngish children can appreciate with some adult input and discussion, but truly offensive stuff like the n-word should be removed, and if a book is totally dependent on racist or other stereotyped attitudes to make the story work then we should question if it should survive.
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Post by LauraBambrey »

I do know what you mean - I'm re-reading the Malory Towers series just for a bit of fun - and picking up on all sorts of references that make me uncomfortable when viewed in context of today's society... however, she was writing in a specific time period and her writing (sadly) reflects the common views of that time.

Maybe the positives we should take from re-reading her books is how much society, understanding and our values have changed for the better...
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Post by StarLight365 »

In the famous five series, there is too much of gender discrimination. The boys are considered superior;they can go out at night, but the girls should go to sleep. The girls have to be taken care of by the boys.
The character of George is alos rather irritating. She is a girl who dresses up as a boy and always behaves like a boy. i somehow gives people the idea that a girl, as a girl, is not good enough. She has to behave like a boy in order to be brave and good enough.
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Post by debbiebee »

Starlight, I agree with you. I have some of the same feelings about the young Jo in Little Women, though I love the book. Obviously the mores of the times meant she couldn't actually wear trousers but the sentiment is there.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
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Post by allwritemel1967 »

To be honest I love these books, although I do agree with the points made. However, they've tried to rectify those issues in the re-releases and it's done the books no favours (in my opinion). I love Enid Blyton (I collect all her original books) but I think her books should be read keeping in mind the values of the times she wrote in. It says a lot that she is still one of the top sellers in Waterstones even today.

We were talking about her in class recently (I read with children on a voluntary basis) and one thing that came up was how much has had to be changed. These days they have taken out the references to gay(!) even though she simply meant happy, and also another reference to I think it was shandy or cider that the children used to drink and apparently even the vocabulary like golly has been 'updated' ... I could go on but I won't! As I pointed out in that debate, I really think the books should be left alone ... I still enjoy them to this day!
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Post by teacher_jane1 »

I"m not familiar with these books! A quick summary?
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K_Kaori
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Post by K_Kaori »

Enid Blyton happens to be my favorite author since i was a child, my father once suggested me about reading her books when i was a kid and since then I am a fan of the series.

-- 26 Jun 2016, 09:15 --
teacher_jane1 wrote:I"m not familiar with these books! A quick summary?
It is about how these five kids stumble upon adventure when they come together for their vacation in Kirrin Island which happens to be one of the kid's home place. The other 3 kids are cousins to this one and along with a dog they become The Famous Five. It is about how they are usually parted from the sight of their caregivers and happen to discover people, secrets, mysteries and adventure as a whole. The clever manner in which they escape the whole tension and solve the mysteries with Timmy (the dog) at their heels, occasionally helping them in it, is a very intriguing setting for children as well as for anyone even as an adult. :techie-reference:
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Post by kingayanfe »

I love this book and read all the series and I recommend this for children
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Post by Eileen R »

I loved the famous five when I was young. In fact, I think I read all of Enid's books. I never really noticed any of the things mentioned above but it was probably because my young brain couldn't register such things.
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Rani29
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Post by Rani29 »

Famous five will just make you the supercalifragilisticexpialidocius thinking person in life :tiphat: :no-spoil: so start up with it :techie-studyingbrown:
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Post by Laceyadams »

Enid Blyton is a good author, I have series of her books. I wasn't privileged to read them as a child but I make sure I buy them for my 7year old.
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Post by a9436 »

I noticed the sexism at the time, but the racism went over my head as a child. It did horrify me upon re-reading, but when keeping the context of the time of writing in mind, I still find them enjoyable tales. I was always rather jealous of some of the 5's adventures and wished I had an island to explore :D
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