Ieder zijn eigen Saïdjah en Adinda? De narratieve betrokkenheid van vwo-scholieren bij verschillende bewerkingen van Multatuli’s Max Havelaar (1860)

This study investigated secondary-school pupil responses to modern
adaptations of a historical literary text. In an experiment, 167 Dutch
pupils each evaluated one of five versions of a fragment of the canonical Dutch nineteenth-century novel Max Havelaar (1860): original,
modern Dutch translation, simplif ied modern Dutch version, Spike
and Suzy comic strip, and graphic novel. Pupils f irst expressed their
opinion about the fragment. They subsequently rated the fragment on
four dimensions of narrative engagement (narrative understanding,
attentional focus, narrative presence, and emotional engagement) as
well as reading enjoyment, and intention to continue reading. Results
showed no differences between the text versions in narrative presence,
emotional engagement, reading enjoyment, and intention to continue
reading. However, the original version was considered more diff icult to
understand than the simplified modern Dutch and Spike and Suzy comic
strip versions. It also led to less attention than the simplif ied modern
Dutch version. Reading enjoyment was relatively high for all versions.
Pupils’ opinions reflected different aspects of their reading experience,
including narrative engagement, reading enjoyment, language use,
content, and the historical reality of the story. Although the quantitative
f indings suggest that pupils respond in similar ways to different versions
of Max Havelaar, the qualitative findings indicate that individual reading
experiences can differ.