Billy Bunter should be taught in schools because children need more fat heroes, an academic has said.
Billy Bunter should be taught in schools because children need more fat heroes, an academic has said.
Billy Bunter should be taught in schools because children need more fat heroes, an academic has said.
Frank Richards' fictional Greyfriars schoolboy who was famously overweight and called names such as "fat Owl" and "fathead", would be a more relatable hero for youngsters because of his imperfections, according to ProfGraeme Davis, an expert in linguistics at Buckingham University.
He said that leading characters in modern children's literature, such as the boy wizard Harry Potter and the teenage spy Alex Ryder, tend to be overly successful.
"Every boy would like to be a bit like Alex Ryder, but let's face it, no one really is," Prof Davis said.
"He is this incredible kid who speaks multiple languages, is proficient in karate, brave, resourceful, you name it, he has all the skills. Realistically he is just an impossible model to live up to.
"Billy Bunter, on the other hand, is a flawed individual who "muddles through", Prof Davis said, but "every one of us can see a bit of ourselves in him".
Billy Bunter. Photo / Supplied
During a time when children are stuck at home and struggling with mental health, they need a different sort of hero, Prof Davis explained.
"Billy Bunter is actually a very real character precisely because he is far from perfect. He is overweight, he is not particularly clever, he is not good at his school work, he is certainly not good at sport but he doesn't take it to heart.
"What he is, is relentlessly cheerful, he is convinced that tomorrow will definitely be a better day and it usually is. He has relentless good humour, he doesn't give up, he bungles through and in the end something comes right."
