For generations the elements of humor, poignancy, fantasy, and unfettered morality found within acclaimed children's author Roald Dahl's most famous tales have captivated both children and adults. Classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, and The BFG may initially appear to be yarns spun for the amusement of the adolescent mind, however, upon digging deeper one uncovers a treasure trove of philosophical richness that is anything but childish, but in fact reveals the true existential weight, and multi-layered meaning of some of our favorite children's stories. Editor Jacob M. Held has collected the insights of today's leading philosophers into the significances, messages, and greater truths at which Dahl's rhythmic writing winks, revealing a whole new way to appreciate the creation of a man and mind to which readers of all ages are still drawn.
Acknowledgements Introduction: Roald Dahl and Absurdity: Children's Literature and the Divorce between the Mind that Desires and the World that Disappoints Jacob M. Held 1 Epicurus and the Chocolate Factory Benjamin Rider 2 On Getting Our Just Desserts: Willy Wonka, Immanuel Kant, and the Summum Bonum Jacob M. Held 3 Matilda, Existentialist Super-Hero Elizabeth Butterfield 4 The Existential Journey of James Henry Trotter: Kierkegaard, Freedom, and Despair in James and the Giant Peach Matthew Bokma and Adam Barkman 5 Of Mice and (Posthu)Man: Roald Dahl's The Witches and Ethics Beyond Humanism Taine Duncan 6 "Who is this Crazy Man?": Willy Wonka's Uneasy Predicament Cam Cobb 7 "He will be altered quite a bit:" Discipline and Punishment in Willy Wonka's Factory Marc Napolitano 8 Matilda and the Philosophy of Education, or What's an Education For? John V. Karavitis 9 Shattering the Glass Elevator: Authenticity and Social Order in the Works of Roald Dahl Joseph J. Foy and Timothy M. Dale 10 The Fantastically Just Mr. Fox: Property and Distributive Justice According to Foxes and other Diggers Jacob M. Held 11 Willy Wonka and the Imperial Chocolate Factory Ron Novy 12 George's Marvelous Medicine, or: What Should We Do About Global Hunger? Janelle Poetzsch 13 Crodswoggle, Flushbunking, and All Things Friendship in the BFG Chad Kleist 14 Charlie and the Nightmare Factory: The Art of Children's Horror Fiction Greg Littman 15 Brimful of Buzzburgers: A Human Bean's Wild Possibilities Miranda Nell 16 Dewey, Negative Capability, and the Wonder of Roald Dahl Tanya Jeffcoat Twits, Witches, and Dirty Beasts: Author Bios
