golliwogg

This ambiguity is complicated further by the internationality of the golliwogg doll itself: as Florence remembered it, the toy "came from an American Fair" (qtd.

In the final book, Golliwogg in the African Jungle, it is clear that the dolls, though aware of American events, are not actually in the USA, for the Golliwogg dreams "that in a newer world, / A man well known to fame, / Had started for East Africa /To shoot its biggest game" (4).

In Golliwogg in the African Jungle, real time and fictional time are mocked in the opening pages, which depict the Golliwogg dreaming a "grand dream" of Theodore Roosevelt's planned safari and waking up to realize that he "must have been asleep / For two full years and more," given that the Dutch Dolls are covered "thick with dust" and cobwebs (2).

Golliwogg in the African Jungle, for example, mocks Roosevelt and his African safari by having the five Dutch Dolls and the Golliwogg arrive in Africa first and convince all of the animals to leave to join their zoo so that "when that other hunter comes /--There's nothing to begot

Tellingly as well, while the few critics of the books generally claim for the Golliwogg the position of leadership and commend his role as one of the first generally positive black characters in children's literature, this attention to the Golliwogg tends to obscure the female Dutch Dolls' own strong roles, which Lois Rostow Kuznets admits "would hardly be considered ladylike" (105).

Generally, Golliwogg has an idea to build something new or to go on an adventure or both; the characters pack and plan, with the Dutch Dolls creating or obtaining new clothes and costumes that will suit the purpose; they embark on their adventures and meet with a set of misfortunes that usually involve explosions or crashes and that frequently involve a lost member or members of the party; and they end by cheering themselves up and heading home.

A close inspection also reveals that Midget does not ride sidesaddle either and mimics the Golliwogg in dress in remarkable ways.