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Illustrator: Florence K. Upton. The Adventure of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg'. Project Gutenberg. Web. 23 September 2015 |
and a Golliwogg' according to young Florence Kate Upton's ideas and illustrations.
After struggling to create a protagonist for her tales, Florence Kate Upton incorporated a black rag doll, apparently a "Negro" minstrel doll,, which her aunt had found packed away in the families' attic.
Let's look at the situation from the perspective of a young (perhaps somewhat naive), aspiring illustrator. Upton already had a mission for her protagonist, most probably long before she had even ever set eyes on the worn-out black rag doll found in the attic of her aunt's Hampstead home. Although the ragdoll is old, battered and black, she instinctively feels that this "Black" doll is just the right one to incorporate into her tales.
True, the term "wog" is disrespectful primarily because it had often been used by the British to derogate dark-skinned foreigners. Upton's character, Golliwogg and other golly dolls are also very often presented and associated with a demeaning image of Africans, Indians, Arabs and Southeast Asians.
However, I question if it was Bertha and Florence Kate Upton's intension.
D.J. MacHale, a novelist, screenwriter, and director, once said: "There are always two ways of looking at things... seeing what's positive about a situation is a lot more fun and gets you a lot further than looking for what might be wrong with it."
A good portion of children's literature of the 20th century and earlier constituted a demeaning view of people from anywhere other than Europe. To be more precise, many children's books from that period brainwashed white children into believing that they were superior to Africans, Arabs and Asians.
True, the term "wog" is disrespectful primarily because it had often been used by the British to derogate dark-skinned foreigners. Upton's character, Golliwogg and other golly dolls are also very often presented and associated with a demeaning image of Africans, Indians, Arabs and Southeast Asians.
However, I question if it was Bertha and Florence Kate Upton's intension.
D.J. MacHale, a novelist, screenwriter, and director, once said: "There are always two ways of looking at things... seeing what's positive about a situation is a lot more fun and gets you a lot further than looking for what might be wrong with it."
A good portion of children's literature of the 20th century and earlier constituted a demeaning view of people from anywhere other than Europe. To be more precise, many children's books from that period brainwashed white children into believing that they were superior to Africans, Arabs and Asians.
I, personally, however, believe that some of that literature can be looked upon with positive associations, thus enervating negative associations.
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