Matilda

Author: Roald Dahl

Illustrator: Quentin Blake

Publishing information: (Viking Juvenile, October 1, 1988, Ages 9-12)

Number of Pages: 240 pages

Genre: Novel- fiction 

Summary of Plot:

            Matilda is a exceptionally bright girl, born to parents that don’t even care about her. By the age of one and a half this girl could speak as well as adults.  By the age of three she could read; having taught herself. Her parents thought reading was foolish, and they would rather have her watching the “telly”. Matilda, almost every weekday, would be left home alone. Her dad went to work, her mom played bingo in an outlying town, and her brother went to school.

One day, when she was four, she started walking to the local library to find more books. After weeks of going to it daily, much to the librarian’s astonishment, she had started reading adult literature. Great Expectations is one such example. The librarian gave her a library card to be able to take books home. However, that did not fly well with her parents. Once, while reading a book at home, her father ripped it apart, because he was mad.

When she was five and a half she started school at Crunchem Hall Primary, overseen by Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull was a past Olympic athlete hammer thrower. Her strength showed it. She was very harsh. She, on separate occasions, picked up a child by the ears, spun a girl around by her pigtails, tossed a child out a second floor window, threw a child across a field, locked up students in a chokey (a very small closet with sharp nails and glass shoved into three of the walls), Made a boy eat a large cake all at once, and then smashed a platter on the cake eater, Bruce Bogtrotter’s, head, among other things.

Matilda, so bored in the lowest class with her exceptional knowledge, had a special power to move items just by looking at them. For example she made a glass with a newt in it spill all over Miss Trunchbull, lifted a cigar, and wrote a message to Miss Truchbull on the chalk board. With her clever mind played tricks on her family as well. She super glued her dad’s hat to his head without him catching her, made her dad’s hair get dyed by switching contents of her parent’s hair care supplies, and made the house sound haunted with a loaned parrot shoved up the chimney.

Matilda and Miss Honey became friends. Miss Honey, Matilda’s young teacher, happened to be Agatha Trunchbull’s niece.  She did not like her. Her parents had died, leaving her under Miss Trunchbull’s guardianship; she was her slave. Most of her salary went to Miss Trunchbull, after an out of fear agreement. This left her in a very meager cottage, and not the house which she rightfully inherited.

In the end, Matilda’s note on the chalk board talked about how Agatha needed to give Jenny Honey back her house, signed Jenny’s Father. Miss Trunchbull fell flat on the floor. After she left the school that day, she never came back. Matilda’s family fled to Spain after fear of the cops from selling corrupt cars affected them. Before they left, Matilda got her parents’ permission to live with Miss Honey in the house which Miss Honey now inherited.

My Reaction to the book:

            I like Matilda. I had read it once, many years ago, and it was fun to read again. This time around I noticed more of how horrible Matilda’s family and school life was, with her parents and Miss Trunchbull. In our day, child services would get involved if parents didn’t pay attention to their children. Also Miss Trunchbull would be fired, if not imprisoned as well for what she did to the children.

            I enjoyed how I could visualize the story in my head, the story came to life. I liked how the illustrations were sketches, nothing else. It added to the tone of the book, and also gave room for imagination.

Potential Problems:

            Matilda and the other children in this book receive many put downs by Miss Trunchbull. This book could possibly scare people of their school principals, even nice ones, even if Miss Trunchbull is known to be a fictional character.

Neglect is a big part of the story, especially shown through the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.

There is at least one foul word.

While selling corrupt cars, Mr. Wormwood could be seen as giving bad ideas to future dealers.

Recommendations:

I believe that this book demonstrates the value that teachers can have in a child’s life, no matter what the other circumstances of life are. This book was really exciting and entertaining. It held my attention from the start to finish. It emphasizes the importance and benefits of reading. It also teaches the value of a good family life, through an unhealthy family life’s extreme tale.