Greyfriars : Billy Bunter as Role Model

I don’t think the Professor who recently suggested, in a newspaper article, that fat children should read Charles Hamilton’s Greyfriars stories was under any misunderstanding.

As always, it’s necessary to study carefully the context in which the article was written: what you are reading is an article written by a journalist, who is giving the journalist’s opinion of (and understanding of) the Greyfriars stories. The article was not written by the Professor, it was written about the Professor. If there is any misunderstanding expressed in the article, it is that of the journalist.

The Professor’s views are obscure, because the article stands between him and us, and the article seems to be written by someone who does not know as much about Hamilton’s work as the Professor does – or as even the average reader does. However, the journalist does not come across as in any way hostile towards Hamilton, in the way that perhaps the writer George Orwell was.

But all the Professor seems to be saying is that Billy Bunter, despite being fat, is happy; is optimistic about the future; and has relentless good humour.

Personally, I’m in favour of promoting the idea that Bunter could be a positive role model, if all that is expected of him is that he is eternally cheerful and eternally positive about the future: cheerful because he’s eternally in hopes of receiving that famous postal order. Even though his expectation is unrealistic.

But would a modern child understand that Bunter’s endless tuck-raiding is meant to be humourous? Or that it’s included in the stories as light relief?

If you approach the stories from the point of view that Bunter is a comic character, and a figure of fun, just like other characters such as Coker or teachers such as Mr Prout, Bunter is a more likeable character. Bunter as light relief, even Bunter as the rescuer of his form master Mr Quelch from an endless series of footpads, is a likeable Bunter.

But heaven help the kid who expects Bunter to be a latter-day Harry Wharton or Bob Cherry, who really were positive role models, perhaps even verging on too good to be completely believable!

Bunter has feet of clay, but he also has his good points: he sneers at Fish for money-lending among the fags; he generally sneers at Skinner, Snoop and Stott for their dingy pub-haunting, their betting on the gee-gees, and for their smoking; and he sneers even at Smithy, for his blackguardism.

I suspect, though, that there are not too many schoolmasters these days like Mr Quelch; not too many schools – even Public Schools – which still teach Latin or Greek; and not too many schools which would dish out six-of-the-best for everything from knocking off Coker’s hat in the old quad, to knocking off one of the house-dame’s steak-and-kidney pies after lights-out.