Revisiting the ‘Splendiferous’ World of Roald Dahl on His Birthday

Nearly 30 years after his death, Dahl’s books continue to enchant adults and children alike.

Master storyteller Roald Dahl would have been 101 on 13 September this year.

(Photo Courtesy: Roalddahl.com)

Growing up as an only child necessitates that you pursue hobbies that will negate the absence of a constant companion. Being an only child in a nuclear family, the only way I could keep boredom at bay was to take up a hobby that I could stick to.

So, reading it was.

While I did not have playmates, I had books. Plenty of books. Many of the books I read as a child and as a young adult were by British novelist Roald Dahl, who would have been a 101 years old today.

Going Solo

An illustration from Dahl’s children’s book Danny, the Champion of the World (Photo Courtesy: Roalddahl.com)

Growing up without siblings need not be as dismal as it sounds, as Dahl’s children’s books tell you. His child protagonists nearly always find ways to amuse themselves, and know how to stay strong in the face of adversity.

With many child suicides coming to light of late, the issue of mental illness has never been more important, and why I bring this up is because Dahl’s books address many of these issues children face, but in a manner that would appeal best to a child.

Dahl never preaches.

While one might question the undertones of the macabre in Dahl’s works, even in his children’s books, it is through alternative realities that he introduces children to the darker side of reality – loneliness, anxiety, depression, and even death.

Do You Speak ‘Gobblefunk’?

Dahl’s books made me spend hours discovering new worlds, making ‘new friends’, and above all, learning a new language. Yes, you read that correctly.

Dahl was not just a wordsmith; he was an inventor – a magician who whipped up unimaginable words, thus lending a personal touch to his literature and making it especially exciting for children.

He derived these new words from literary devices like alliteration, portmanteaus, anagrams, onomatopoeia, et al.

In fact, in September 2016, the storyteller’s centennial birth anniversary month, Oxford University Press published a lexicon of Dahl’s vocabulary, curated by Dr Susan Rennie, professor, University of Glasgow. The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary records the transcendental nature of Dahl’s language, which explains the writer’s enormous appeal to children and adults alike.

Words like “bundongle” (something that only contains air), or “fizzwiggler” (a cruel, loathsome person) are highly evocative, and often serve to describe people, their situations and surroundings far better than the words they are derived from.

Who else could have come up with words like ‘gobblefunk‘ and ‘snozzwangers‘? In fact, ‘gobblefunk’ itself is a language.

In his 1982 children’s book, The BFG, Dahl introduces ‘gobblefunk’ as the language of the giants, which is somewhat broken and entirely ludicrous, much like the giants themselves.

Snippets of Dahl's Own Life

The beauty of Dahl’s language lies in its dark, sometimes gruesome humour.

As is evident from many of his tales, the Norwegian-origin writer had a taste for the macabre. This characteristic of his work can be traced back to Dahl’s own life.

Born to Norwegian parents in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, Dahl was raised by a single mother since age three, following his father’s untimely death. This was only weeks after Dahl’s then seven-year-old sister Astri had died of a burst appendix. In 1962, when his career was about to peak, Dahl was dealt another blow – this time, it was his eldest daughter Olivia’s death at age seven.

Having witnessed death at such close proximity, that too since a tender age, Dahl’s literature frequently features children who are orphaned, lonely or troubled.

Moreover, his unpleasant experiences at Repton School, Derbyshire (which he attended from 1929) find place in stories like Matilda (1988), featuring cruel administrators like Miss Trunchbull.

A young Roald Dahl during his school days at Repton. (Photo Courtesy: Roalddahl.com)

The draconian principal of Matilda’s eponymous heroine’s school, Miss Trunchbull has almost become synonymous with cruelty. Aptly named, “The Trunchbull” (as she was called by the characters in the book) was the biggest bully that one ever saw.

Much like some of Dahl’s professors and seniors at Repton, the fictional character would resort to the cruelest of tactics to make her students toe the line.

Heroic Children at the Heart of Dahl's Tales

Mara Wilson as Matilda in Danny DeVito’s 1996 screen adaptation of the popular children’s book.(Photo Courtesy: YouTube Screen grab / MrDnice3477) 

Dahl sketches his characters with such attention to detail that they all but jump out of the pages. So real are these fictional people, that you are able to feel exactly what the writer intended.

In the case of Ms Trunchbull, certainly a ‘red-hot hatred’, not unlike Matilda’s feelings towards the headmistress.

Dahl’s stories usually feature solitary child heroes who are at the behest of selfish, heartless adults. But Dahl, always rooting for the children, lets his child heroes triumph in the end. These child characters range from the precocious five-year-old Matilda, to the adventurous orphan Sophie (in The BFG).

Interestingly, Sophie’s character is inspired by Dahl’s granddaughter who shares the name of The BFG’s protagonist.

Dahl’s tales draw on not only the darker aspects of his life, but also on the lighter ones. His granddaughter Sophie recalls in a tribute to her grandfather in The Guardian that the late writer grew up at a time when chocolate was hard to come by.

Instead, as a boy, Dahl saw around him shops filled with hard-boiled sweets, gobstoppers, lemon sherbets, bootlaces and candy. These “scrumdiddlyumptious” treats are almost an inseparable part of Dahl’s children’s tales.

Despite the diverse nature of his stories and characters, nearly all of Dahl’s literary figures are bound by a common trait: being courageous, and creatively so, in the face of adversity.

Be it James Henry Trotter from James and the Giant Peach (1961) or Sophie from The BFG (1982) or even Danny, the hero of Danny, the Champion of the World (1975), all these characters show remarkable courage through hardship, and emerge victorious in the end.

Henry Trotter from James and the Giant Peach (1961) in the 1996 musical by Henry Selick.(Photo Courtesy: YouTube Screen grab/ DisneyBluRay411) 

Dahl’s ability to celebrate, and never underplay the human condition, has won him love and appreciation the world over. But these tales, which are peppered with the adversities that Dahl himself faced during his lifetime, are never told without a generous dose of satire.

One of his finest examples of satire is Fantastic Mr Fox (1970), which was later adapted for the screen by filmmaker Wes Anderson, in 2009. The plot revolves around the life of Mr Fox, an ambitious, crooked creature, who is compelled to finally live honestly, after a series of unfortunate events.

Even Dahl’s animal characters have all-too-human qualities and are far from virtuous.

Dahl’s universal appeal can also be ascribed to his non-preachy storytelling style. While his tales delivered powerful messages, not once were they sanctimonious.

Dahl’s Appeal to Adults & Children Alike

Dahl also wrote volumes of limericks and nonsense rhymes. Many of these compilations, like Revolting Rhymes (1982), feature a bond between animals and children. Dahl was a great lover of nature, and as recalled by his granddaughter Sophie in an interview to The Guardian, he used to spend several hours pottering about his garden.

While Dahl is best remembered for his children’s stories, he also wrote many a compelling read for adults.

Some of his noted adult works include the collections Kiss Kiss (1960) and Switch Bitch (1974), and the novel My Uncle Oswald (1979).

Dahl received several awards during his lifetime. These include the 1983 ‘World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement’, and the British Book Awards’ ‘Children’s Author of the Year’ in 1990.

Nearly three decades after his death, Dahl continues to appeal to adults and children alike.

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