How Roald Dahl Has Used Exaggeration To Make The Characters Interesting!

• Areeb Shahjahan
• Short Story
• 2008

In his novel Boy, Roald Dahl has introduced us to some particular segments of his childhood. He made the novel very interesting and funny by constructing and establishing some very nasty, hilarious, and frightening characters. He achieved this through exaggeration and caricature. In the novel Boy, we catch a glimpse of how tough and harsh Dahl’s life was. There were three characters in this novel, which really stood out. The first character was an old lady named Mrs Pratchett who was the owner of the candy shop. The second one was the cruel, orange-haired Captain Hardcastle who was a master at St Peter’s. The third was the terrifying Matron at St Peter’s. Roald Dahl exaggerated these characters in many ways which made the novel a joy to read.

The first character was an old lady named Mrs Pratchett and she was the owner of the candy shop. Dahl really overstates Mrs Pratchett’s physical appearance. “Her apron was grey and greasy. Her blouse had bits of breakfast all over it, toast-crumbs and tea stains and splotches of dried egg-yolk (Dahl 1984, page 33).” He exaggerates on the section where he describes the way she uses her filthy hand to take out the candies like Treacle Toffee or Wine Gums from the jar. Very nasty, filthy, and horrible. “She was a skinny old hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a gooseberry”, (Dahl 1984, page 33). They couldn’t do anything after all these bad encounters Dahl and his buddies had with Mrs Pratchett until they saw the dead mouse. Then they plan a plot against Mrs Pratchett using the dead mouse. Shortly afterwards, they are caught for doing it. Mrs Pratchett gets revenge on the boys in a revolting way. They got the unpleasant cane and Mrs Pratchett was commenting victoriously after every stroke. The cane was the one and only way kids were punished back in those days.

The second character, the shocking Captain Hardcastle, was a master at St Peter’s. I believe that this character is among the nastiest character is the whole book. “This man was slim and wiry and he played football” (Dahl 1984, page 108) Dahl states. Roald Dahl describes Captain Hardcastle in very unusual ways. Here, he uses similes, “his legs were as hard and thin as ram’s legs and the skin around his calves was almost the colour of mutton fat” (Dahl 1984, page 108). Dahl writes a whole paragraph describing Captain Hardcastle’s moustache! He adds in every single feature and detail of it. Roald Dahl has used a large variety of excellent adjectives in this novel to make it more interesting and to portray the character. “Life is a puzzlement,’ the corrugated brow seemed to be saying, ‘and the world is a dangerous place. All men are enemies and small boys are insects that will turn and bite if you don’t get them first and squash them hard.” (Dahl 1984, page 109). This is where Dahl exceedingly exaggerates. Obviously moustaches cannot speak at any circumstances. Roald Dahl was extremely afraid of Captain Hardcastle during his entire stay at St Peter’s. Captain Hardcastle was very picky on Roald all the time and soon enough, he got the dreadful, horrendous, and awful cane. Roald Dahl was really troubled by this nasty man. He describes Captain Hardcastle attitude in a similar way to Mrs Pratchett’s. I believe that Captain Hardcastle is represented as a negative character in the novel.

The third character was the 28 year old ‘Female ogre’ (as Dahl describes her) the Matron, who was another staff at St Peter’s. Dahl elaborates on the Matron’s look. “On the dormitory floor the Matron ruled supreme (Dahl 1984, page 85)”. The Matron was in charge of the dormitory floor and she had all the power she wanted. At any time she liked, she could send kids down in their pyjamas and dressing gown and cane them on the spot. Dahl exaggerates and describes her as a ‘merciless giant’. The Matron always talks to the children in an appalling manner. She would often say something along the lines of “Don’t be such a ridiculous baby!” or “How dare you come in without knocking!”. I believe the Matron was shown in a sort of negative and positive way in the novel because occasionally she was very furious and rude, but she was not as bad as Mrs Pratchett or Captain Hardcastle.

Overall, I believe this novel is sensational and is a joy to read. The whole novel is well constructed. Roald Dahl has used caricature and exaggeration appropriately which makes the novel very fascinating and interesting. All the characters are deeply portrayed and explained clearly (Captain Hardcastle, The Matron, and Mrs Pratchett in particular). ‘Superbly written ... a glimpse of a brilliant eccentric’ – New Statesman Magazine.