Roald Dahl and Philosophy: A Little Nonsense Now and Then

261 Pages·2014·2.82 MB·English

by  Jacob M. Held

ROALD DAHL AND
PHILOSOPHY

ROALD DAHL AND
PHILOSOPHY
A Little Nonsense Now and Then
Edited by Jacob M. Held
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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RoaldDahlandphilosophy:alittlenonsensenowandthen/editedbyJacobM.Held.
pagescm
Includesindex.
ISBN978-1-4422-2252-6(pbk.:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-4422-2253-3(electronic)
1.Dahl,Roald—Criticismandinterpretation.2.Philosophyinliterature.3.Children’sstories,Eng-
lish—Historyandcriticism.I.Held,JacobM.,1977–editorofcompilation.
PR6054.A35Z8572014
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PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Dedicated to me, Jacob M. Held,
without whom none of this would have been possible.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction:RoaldDahlandAbsurdity:Children’sLiteratureand
theDivorcebetweentheMindThatDesiresandtheWorld
ThatDisappoints 1
JacobM.Held
1 EpicurusandtheChocolateFactory 7
BenjaminA.Rider
2 OnGettingOurJustDesserts:WillyWonka,ImmanuelKant,
andtheSummumBonum 19
JacobM.Held
3 Matilda,ExistentialistSuperhero 33
ElizabethButterfield
4 TheExistentialJourneyofJamesHenryTrotter:Kierkegaard,
Freedom,andDespairinJamesandtheGiantPeach 47
MatthewBokmaandAdamBarkman
5 OfMiceand(Posthu)Man:RoaldDahl’sTheWitchesand
EthicsbeyondHumanism 59
TaineDuncan
6 “WhoIsThisCrazyMan?”:WillyWonka’sUneasy
Predicament 73
CamCobb
vii
viii CONTENTS
7 “HeWillBeAlteredQuiteaBit”:DisciplineandPunishment
inWillyWonka’sFactory 81
MarcNapolitano
8 MatildaandthePhilosophyofEducation:or,What’san
EducationFor? 93
JohnV.Karavitis
9 ShatteringtheGlassElevator:AuthenticityandSocialOrder
intheWorksofRoaldDahl 107
JosephJ.FoyandTimothyM.Dale
10 TheFantasticallyJustMr.Fox:PropertyandDistributive
JusticeAccordingtoFoxesandOtherDiggers 121
JacobM.Held
11 WillyWonkaandtheImperialChocolateFactory 137
RonNovy
12 George’sMarvelousMedicine,or,WhatShouldWeDo
aboutGlobalHunger? 149
JanellePötzsch
13 Crodswoggle,Flushbunking,andAllThingsFriendshipin
TheBFG 161
ChadKleist
14 CharlieandtheNightmareFactory:TheArtofChildren’s
HorrorFiction 173
GregLittmann
15 BrimfulofBuzzburgers:AHumanBean’sWildPossibilities 191
MirandaNell
16 Dewey’sMarvelousMedicine:NegativeCapabilityandthe
WonderofRoaldDahl 205
TanyaJeffcoat
Notes 217
Index 239
Twits,Witches,andDirtyBeasts:AuthorBiographies 245