Pippi Longstocking

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Pippi Longstocking is a remarkable main fictional character from children’s literature that was created by Swedish author, Astrid Lindgren and published in 1945. The original book of Pippi Longstocking has a trilogy. The first book was Pippi Longstocking, the second book was Pippi Longstocking goes abroad, and the last book was Pippi Longstocking in the south seas. Pippi was described as red-haired, freckled, adventurous, strong, playful, and kind. The idea of Pippi was first coming up when Lindgren’s Daughter, Karin wants to hear a story from her mom.

The First Pippi Book

The Pippi Longstocking books were composed by Lindgren during the 1940s, covering the adventures of Pippi, an independent and unusual girl whose parents are dead and who lives with two animal friends. With a strong and independent character. The character of Pippi has been recognized as a feminist icon.[1]

The English version of the book was first published in 1950. And after the book was booming, the series and film of Pippi Longstocking were being produced by televisions. Now the books of Pippi Longstocking have been translated into more than 75 languages. [2]

Plot

Pippi goes Abroad

Pippi is a girl with pigtails who lives by herself in an old house, Villa Villekulla. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father was lost in the sea. She is living with her monkey named Mr. Nilson and her pony. The book has each part of her adventures. The first chapter told about the free-lively Pippi and the other two children, Tommy and Annika. Pippi is told as the strongest girl in the world, and she manages the bullies by placing them into trees. And when she was at the circus, she can also beat the circus strongman. Not only strong, but Pippi is also a genuine girl, she gives burglars pieces of gold to them with a condition that they have to dance with Pippi. The final chapter is about Pippi’s 10th birthday party.[3]

Controversy

The controversy of the book was when Pippi said that her father was “the King of Negroes”. Because of the racist word, it is now changed to “the King of South seas”. As the national treasure of literature and the Swedish spirit, many of them were disappointed by people who said the book has a racial issue. According to the author’s daughter, she is not against the revision of the book as her mother also had nothing to against it.[4]

Dr. Eske Wollrad who is a feminist theologian scholar from Germany's Federal Association of Evangelical Women has asserted that Lindgren's classic children books have "colonial racist stereotype". As for the example, in Pippi in the South Seas there a scene where the black children throw themselves into the sand in front of the white children. For Wollrad, there are many positives sides from the book and Pippi is not racist. But what disturbed her is on some parts of the trilogy of books have a racist issue. However, Wollrad criticizes that references should be added to the content to help put racist terms in context and to provoke conversations. To understand the situation, we should think if we can read the whole book for black children without stopping or stumping.[5]

Pippi 3.jpg

What Wollrad concerns is also felt by Katarina Jungar, a social scientist who leads the Children’s Library Project. She advises to parents to discuss the problem with their children so that the child will understand, though it could be hard for parents to explain how. Ahmed Al-Nawas, who works with Jungar often changed the word. The Children's Library Project is attempting to discover new, functional methods of managing encounters of racism, including structural racism that children may experience in public places. Through research and arts, the point is to make positive counter-stories dependent on the experience of parents and children. By putting the memory work strategy found by Frigga Haug. It includes group discussion of the individual event throughout everyday life, making them into stories told as an outsider looking in. The essential thought is that the story assists members with taking a more level-headed and scientific gander at their lives and maybe even change them. As Jungar would like to think, Frigga Haug's strategy is ideal for handling racist experiences in public spaces, as it assists the victim with removing herself from troublesome encounters.[6]

Lindgren’s daughter explained that the part cited by Eske Wollrad, where the black children throw themselves into the sand in front of Pippi and Tommy and Annika which they think that white skin was to be glorified. It is a racist stereotype, yet since it is quickly addressed by Pippi, who will not be bowed before, who makes a solid mark of the kids being all indistinguishable, black or white, and appreciating similar games in the two books managing the South Seas. She also said that it is hard to consider representatives of a dubious racist conception and thus harming reading children of today and the old damage of colonial racism remain.[7]

For many Swedes, the word Neger (Negro) is not viewed as a racist, denigrating word similar to its English partner. This perplexing discussion proceeds, yet it is fascinating to take note that the utilization of the word endures despite of protests and disagreements.[8]

References

  1. Bauer, Patricia and Lowne, Cathy. Pippi Longstocking, 12 October 2018. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  2. Pippi Longstocking – The History. Astrid Lindgren. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  3. Bauer, Patricia and Lowne, Cathy. Pippi Longstocking, 12 October 2018. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  4. Roennedal, Vibeke Sofie Sandager. Racism in classic pieces of Nordic children's literature, 17 December 2020. Nordics Info. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  5. Flood, Alison. Pippi Longstocking books charged with racism, 9 November 2011. The Guardian. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  6. Aho, Verra Luoma. When Pippi said The N-word, 14 June 2018. Kone Foundation. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  7. Flood, Alison. Pippi Longstocking books charged with racism. The Guardian. Retrieved March 30 2021.
  8. Roennedal, Vibeke Sofie Sandager. Racism in classic pieces of Nordic children's literature. Nordics Info. Retrieved March 30 2021.