Parents Complain of Swear Words in Charles Dickens Comics

09/02/2015 - 11h24

When Brazilian author Machado de Assis translated Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" he used the words "woman with idly life" or "public woman". But the edition presented to 10-12 year old children in a private school in São Paulo, is, bluntly: "prostitute". The "Oliver Twist" edition used at Colégio Magister, a school in the South São Paulo area, revolted parents.

The classic English writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870) chronicles the life of an orphan boy, Oliver, who is raised in miserable conditions in a hostel in a small town in England. Later, he ends up getting involved with criminals in London. Machado translated part of the book.

The edition chosen for 60 students of the sixth grade from Magister is a comic adaptation by French author Loic Dauvillier. In Brazil, it was translated by Luciano Vieira Machado and published by book publisher Salamandra.

On the publisher's website, the book is suitable for 8-year-old children.

	Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress
	The "Oliver Twist" edition used at Colégio Magister, a school in the South São Paulo area

"My son came to me a few days ago saying: 'the book the teacher asked me to read has a swear word'. At first, I thought it was an f-word", says the student's mother chemical engineer Cintia Bernardi, 40. "He's ten years old and came to ask me what a prostitute was," she complains.

"Comics are an important genre of text to work with children up to 11 years old," replied pedagogical director Katia Martinho.

In the evaluation of psychoanalyst and professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of São Paulo (USP), Claudia Riolfi, there is no problem in addressing "different language in the classroom, including showing what looks good or not in social context".

However, Daniel Puglia, professor of Arts at USP and Dickens scholar, questions the translation. "Dickens uses a more indirect characterisation," he says.

	Reprodução
	Comic adaptation of "Oliver Twist", published by Salamandra

French comics author Loic Dauvillier defends himself by e-mail: "To highlight the struggle of the poor classes, it is necessary to emphasize the violence suffered. For this, we use images, but also a certain level of language".

In a statement, book publisher Salamandra says: "The language of comics used in this work is authentic and seeks to portray with fidelity England's reality in the 18th century".
The school says it will host a chat between translator and students.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

Read the article in the original language