Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

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Rob Houghton
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

When all is said and done, I think the speedboat is a great example of wish-fulfilment! Enid knew what her young readers would like to see her characters rewarded with, and she didn't disappoint! :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
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Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Daisy »

The Adventurous Four ended up with a boat too, I seem to remember. Perhaps a reward for foiling the enemy in wartime merited an expensive token of regard from a grateful government!
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Aussie Sue »

I don't understand why there is so much discussion about the fact toilets aren't mentioned in Enid Blyton books. I can't think of any other children's book that I have read that discusses toilets or the characters going to the toilet (or needing to go to the toilet) so why is it such a surprise that Enid Blyton childrens books don't mention toilets.

It is something often mentioned in articles about her writing and even regularly in topics on here. I just don't get it!
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I suppose the subject sometimes comes to mind when reading of characters being trapped in a room or a cave for hours after downing ice-cold ginger beer, lemonade or spring water! Most of the time I forget about such things though!
Daisy wrote:The Adventurous Four ended up with a boat too, I seem to remember. Perhaps a reward for foiling the enemy in wartime merited an expensive token of regard from a grateful government!
Jack, Peggy, Mike and Nora also get given their own motor boat at the end of The Secret of Spiggy Holes, though theirs is a present from the King of Baronia.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by snugglepot »

I had no idea that the house would not have had a bathroom. I grew up in a time and place where everyone had an inside bathroom.
Bathrooms (not toilets) are mentioned in some books. In "Rilloby Fair" Barney takes a bath at Diana, Roger and Snubby's house.

Back to Smuggler Ben
In Chapter 2 I was struck by all the imagery and the use of colour in the descriptions such as the "...gleaming shells, pink as the sunset".
It is in this chapter we learn the name "Smuggler Ben" and that he is Mrs Polsett's grandson. We then have an instance of irony when the children hearing about this person became excited and "...felt that they would like very much to know him. And he had a fine boat, too. He would be a fine person to know."
Compare that to when they first see the boy near the fishing nets and their thoughts and remarks;
"I don't think I like him very much,....He looks rough."
"Well he won't bother us much,..... He's only a fisher-boy."
I could not help but laugh at the irony of the situation as they had no idea that this "fine person to know" was the very "fisher-boy" they had dismissed at first sight.
I believe this initial negative view of Ben led them to ignore him when they saw him on the cove, then act defensively when he challenged them. They did not view him as an equal and were shocked that he would talk that way to them and tell them not to come to the cove.
As for the knife incident, it is surely a product of the times and would not be acceptable today.
Once the children learn who Smuggler Ben is we are told "..their hearts sank." Did they accept that their initial dismissal of this boy as "inferior" now meant they were denied access to a boat? No, in true fashion, they blamed it all on Ben saying , "It's the nasty boy." and determined to not even ask him about the boat because they did not want to give him the chance to "refuse rudely."
Do we believe that things would have been different if they had viewed Ben in a positive way, the first time they saw him, maybe approached him and said "Hello!"? Would Ben's own prejudices have still made their initial meeting a negative one?
I guess Enid wrote it this way to give the children an obstacle to overcome.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

I actually think Enid was being very astute, introducing Ben as she did - and its a great example of how she was able to get into the minds of her child characters. Children tend to judge very much by appearances and actions - they don't see the grey - everything is black and white, so a scowl and a knife and Ben's initial unfriendliness would straight away label him as 'a nasty boy' in their eyes.

Also, I think many children are quite snobbish in their attitudes to other children who are different - and this doesn't just apply to 'posh kids' but also poorer kids, who are often distrustful of children from more privileged backgrounds. Children only tend to like what they know, and judge other children, from different backgrounds, by the standards they have grown up with. So actually I feel Enid is portraying the three children and Ben in a realistic way. Even today, children from different backgrounds would initially be suspicious and distrustful of children from a background that was far removed from their own life experiences. In 2017 If a child speaks differently, wears a different style of clothing, has the 'wrong' hair cut, or the 'wrong' mobile phone, they can be bullied and ousted out of a peer group. This form of 'snobbishness' is rife amongst children.

Ben is similar, in that later on he describes the owner of the cottage as being 'a funny man - never talked to anyone' and states 'I didn't like him.' - but fails to see that maybe he had been judged in a similar way by the three children.

Considering the brevity of the book, its amazing what strong characters Enid manages to create. :D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by snugglepot »

Yes, Enid is very insightful. She sees the prejudices of both sides. The people who live in the village all year round and had to earn a living, such as through fishing, would have resented the "wealthier" tourists coming in and "taking over" the beach and the village.
Ben was also used to being alone in his own fantasy world, so resented any intrusions into this.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Wolfgang »

I reread my English edition of Smuggler Ben (Werner Laurie, 2/1953) yesterday and checked it with my German Edition (Schneiderbuch, 1971). All in all the translation is good, they didn't omit paragraphs, only lengthy descriptions were shortened. Sometimes I would have translated things differently, for I think the translator didn't catch the meaning correctly (or it's me who hasn't caught it correctly), but well, so far so good.
But there a flaws with the German edition. Obviously they had a "Don't mention war" attitude, so they made the villains real smugglers, watch-smugglers, and included the reason why something like this is profitable. Gretel had to undergo a gender transformation and became a man, and apart of Mr Rondel we don't learn the names of the other smugglers. While the English edition talks of women during the first encounter, the German edition only features men - whether this is chivalry or discrimination I don't know. Some might argue that chivalry is a form of discrimination though.
The closeness the Ireland is also never mentioned.

Just because of personal interest, there's one point I disagree with the German interpretation of this:
„Now what in the world do these kids think they are doing?“ he wondered. „Little monkeys - slipping out like this just before midnight.What are they up to? I’ll go after them and see."
„Was in aller Welt nur hat diese Bande denn da vor?“ murmelte er.„Wie die Katzen schleichen sie um Mitternacht aus dem Haus. Was hat das wohl zu bedeuten? Na, ich will den Herrschaften einmal ein wenig nachgehen!"
The expression "Little monkeys": what kind of meaning does it carry? The German edition translates like this: "They sneak out of the house like cats at midnight. What't the meaning of this?"

The German interpretation picks just one aspect of it, the sneaking, while I think it has a much wider dimension so to speak, covering several aspects, the state of mind of the children. I just wonder how native speakers interpret it.
Last edited by Wolfgang on 25 Apr 2017, 08:29, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Nicko »

Wolfgang wrote:
The expression "Little monkeys": what kind of meaning does it carry? The German edition translates like this: "They sneak out of the house like cats at midnight. What't the meaning of this?"

The German interpretation picks just one aspect of it, the sneaking, while I think it has a much wider dimension so to speak, covering several aspects, the state of mind of the children. I just wonder how native speakers interpret it.
I think little monkeys would translate as "badly behaved children" in my mind.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Kate Mary »

I'm enjoying everyone's comments on Smuggler Ben, so much so they have inspired me to dig out my copy. I've never noticed it before but I agree with Rob the G W Backhouse illustrations are reminiscent of Alfred Bestall. I loved this story as a child and read it many times but not often since, it never seem particularly short back then. I'm just starting The Secret of Cliff Castle now, which was my favourite of the Mary Pollock books.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Daisy »

Nicko wrote: I think little monkeys would translate as "badly behaved children" in my mind.
No, I feel it means "little mischiefs" - it is, or perhaps was quite common to refer to children as little monkeys if they were teasing or playing up in a reasonably light-hearted way. That is how I would use it anyway.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

Yes, to me 'little monkeys' has a similar meaning to daisy. Children who are always up to tricks, maybe children who do their own thing regardless of being told not to - not easily controlled - a bit wild - who don't see the dangers but do it anyway. Maybe badly behaved too but in a lighthearted way. :-D

My mom used to call me and my friend 'little monkeys' sometimes when we were playing up as kids. :-D Around Birmingham the expression 'cheeky monkey' is used a lot!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Nicko »

Well yes, that's what I meant by badly behaved children. :D
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Our mum also used to call my sister and me "little monkeys" sometimes, or "rascals" or "scallywags", said with affection and mock surprise rather than as a reprimand.
snugglepot wrote:Yes, Enid is very insightful. She sees the prejudices of both sides. The people who live in the village all year round and had to earn a living, such as through fishing, would have resented the "wealthier" tourists coming in and "taking over" the beach and the village.
Yes - when Ben initially dismisses the three siblings as "trippers" it's no different to Alec, Hilary and Frances dismissing him as "rough" or "only a fisher-boy." It's nice that Enid Blyton uses an act of kindness by Hilary to break down the barriers and show the children that they've actually got a lot in common, all of them being fascinated by the wild coast and its secrets and loving to explore and have adventures.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Liam »

Wolfgang wrote: Just because of personal interest, there's one point I disagree with the German interpretation of this:
„Now what in the world do these kids think they are doing?“ he wondered. „Little monkeys - slipping out like this just before midnight.What are they up to? I’ll go after them and see."
„Was in aller Welt nur hat diese Bande denn da vor?“ murmelte er.„Wie die Katzen schleichen sie um Mitternacht aus dem Haus. Was hat das wohl zu bedeuten? Na, ich will den Herrschaften einmal ein wenig nachgehen!"
The expression "Little monkeys": what kind of meaning does it carry? The German edition translates like this: "They sneak out of the house like cats at midnight. What't the meaning of this?"

The German interpretation picks just one aspect of it, the sneaking, while I think it has a much wider dimension so to speak, covering several aspects, the state of mind of the children. I just wonder how native speakers interpret it.
Yes, it is the “state of mind” that it refers to, not how they went out the house. Replacing a pet name “little monkeys” with a simile changed the meaning. The English meaning was not that they sneaked out like monkeys, but they sneaked out because they were monkeys (i.e. mischievous).

Maybe the German translation deliberately avoided name-calling?
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