Sarantos1

JackSarantos
Ms.Clifford
BritishLiterature/Composition
18April2016
RoaldDahl'sLifeinHisWorks
RoaldDahlwasafamousBritishwriterwhoinspiredmillionsofreaderswithhis
childrenthemedshortstoriesandnovels.BornonSeptember13,1916inLlandaff,Wales,Dahl
grewupinabrokenfamily,asbothhisfatherandsisterweredeadbythetimehewasthree.
DuringthebreakoutoftheSecondWorldWar,DahlenlistedintheRoyalAirForceasafighter
pilot.Aftersurvivingabrutalplanecrashthatlefthimtemporarilyblindandhandicapped,Dahl
begantotakeinterestinwritingshortstoriesandotherformsofliterature.Throughoutfamous
storiessuchas
JamesandtheGiantPeach
,readerscanfindplotlinesandcharactersthatgain
influencefromRoaldDahl'sownlife.Byacknowledgingtheseinfluences,thereadercanally
withDahlsothattheycanbetterunderstandhisstories.
RoaldDahlsplanecrashdidnotjustaffecthimphysicallyintheshortterm,butitalso
affectedmentallyforlife.Dahldidnotshowmuchofapassionforcreativewritinguntilhewas
involvedwiththeplanecrashinWW2.Besidesthephysicalailmentsofthecrash,Dahlreceived
whatisnowcalled
PostConcussiveSyndrome(PCS).

PCS
oftenresultsinthepatientsuffering
fromsevereheadaches,aninabilitytoconcentrate,moodswings,andanalteredperceptionof
self.Thisalteredperceptioniswhatmanybelievedcausedhimtostartwantingtowritecreative
stories.DespitetheaerialcombatandlifealteringcrashthatDahlsawinhisairservice,Roald
developedaloveforflying.HisuttersenseofpeaceinflyingcanbeseeninSturrock'sbiography

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againin,

Thisheightenedsenseofselfwascloselylinkedtotheveryactofflying.Fromits
ecstaticbeginnings,swoopingovertheKenyanbush,thesenseofbeingaloneandfreeinan
unfamiliarelementstimulatedRoaldssenseofthemystical.Itreinforcedhissenseofisolation.
Theskybecameanalternativeworld:aplaceoftranquillityandgentlebeauty,arefugeeither
fromthehorrorsofwarorthecrueltiesofhumanbehaviour(Sturrock3).Dahl'sidealisticview
offlyingcanbeseenasamainthemeinmanyofRoald'sstories,suchasJamesandtheGiant
PeachandTheMinPins.
In
JamesandTheGiantPeach
,themaincharacterJamesseekstofleefromhisabusive
homeafteralargemagicalpeachgrowsinhisfrontyard.Afterenteringthegiantfruit,thepeach
takesoffdownahill,untiliteventuallyrollsintotheocean.Fromthere,Jamesandtheother
charactersinthepeachgetthefruittobepickedupbyhundredsofseagullsintothesky,asthey
headforNewYorkCity.Thiscanbeseeninthequote,Withalltheseagullsstrainingatthe
stringsaboveThegiantpeachroseupdrippingoutofthewaterandbeganclimbingtowardthe
heavens.(Dahl22).ItdefinitelywasnotacoincidencethatRoaldDahlmadeacentralpartof
hisbookaboutflying,withhimalsohavingapastinvolvedwiththeact.Despitealmostdyingin
aplanecrash,Dahlreferstothepeach'sflyingas,Climbingtowardstheheavens.Thispartof
thestoryisundoubtedlyareferencetoDahl'sownexperienceofclimbingtowardstheheavens.
JamesandTheGiantPeachisnottheonlyworkthatwasinfluencedbyDahlsflying
career.InRoaldDahls
TheMinpins
,theactofflyingplaysacentralroleneartheendofthe
book.Inthebook,themaincharacterLittleBillyneedstoridtheforesthelivesnearofthe
wickedbeastcalledtheGruncher.LittleBillycomesupwithaplantoridthemonsterbyflying
onaswanovertheforest,thatofwhichwillattracttheGrunchertofollowitoutoftheforest.

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WhileLittleBillyisflyingontheswan,hedescribestheactofflyingsimilarlytohowSturrock
recountsDahlsexperiencewithflyingbeing.Thiscanbeseeninthequote,Andaboveall,
watchwithglitteringeyesthewholeworldaroundyoubecausethegreatestsecretsarealways
hiddeninthemostunlikelyplaces.Thosewhodon'tbelieveinmagicwillneverfindit.(Dahl
2).Inthisquote,LittleBillysumsupflyingintheskyasbeingaplacewherehecantakerefuge
fromtheworldgoingonaroundhim.Hedescribesthemagicthattheauthorfeltwhenflying
abovethecombatofWW2,butinsteadreplacingthecombatwiththebeastthatrunsbelowLittle
Billyandtheswan.
OneofthemostimpactfuleventsinRoaldDahl'slifewasnottheplanecrashthatalmost
killedhim,buttheearlydeathofhisdaughter.OliviaDahlwasRoaldDahlseldestdaughter.In
Novemberof1962,Dahlsoldestdaughterbecamesickwithasevereformofalocalmeasles
outbreak.Withinhoursoffeelingtheinitialsymptoms,Oliviawasdeadfromtheillness.This
canbeseeningreaterdetailinReader'sDigests
RoaldDahlsHeartbreakingLessonAbout
ChildhoodVaccinations
.Thequotegoes,ThreedayslaterOliviadisplayedthehallmarkfever,
runnynose,cough,andblotchyredrashthatcharacterizeameaslesinfection.Afterdaysinbed,
herfeverwanedandrecoveryseemedimminent.Thenextmorninghowever,Oliviastartedto
complainofaheadacheandsleepiness.Herconditionsoondeterioratedrapidlyandlaterthat
nightshedied.Oliviahaddevelopedencephalitis(inflammationofthebrain),arareand
sometimesfatalcomplicationofmeasles.(Stork1).
LessthanayearafterOliviaDahl'sdeath,avaccinewasreleasedtoimmunizechildren
fromthemeaslesdisease.ThefactthatOliviadiedrightbeforethelifesavingvaccinecameout,
washeartbreakingforRoaldDahl.Inanefforttocometotermswithhisdaughter'sdeath,Roald

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begantocampaignvigorouslyforchildhoodvaccinations.ThepassingofRoaldsdaughtercan
beseenasaninfluenceinaprovaccinationletterthatRoaldwrotetowardsparentsofall
children.Thisinfluencecanbereadinaquotefromtheletter,stating,Thereistodaysomething
thatparentscandotomakesurethatthissortoftragedydoesnothappentoachildoftheirs.
TheycaninsistthattheirchildisimmunizedagainstmeaslesTodayagoodandsafevaccine
isavailabletoeveryfamilyandallyouhavetodoistoaskyourdoctortoadministerit. (Dahl
3)ThequotebyDahlcanbeseennotjustasawaytohelpmotivateparentsgettheirchildren
vaccinated,butratherasawaytomakesomegoodofhisdaughter'spassing.Thedeathofachild
isahorrificallytraumaticeventforanydecentparentofthisworld.Someparentstrytocope
withtheirlossthroughreligion,whileotherseasethepainwithdrugsandalcohol.Forsomeone
likeRoaldDahl,oneofthewaystocopewiththeirlossistowriteaboutit.Withboththepassing
ofadaughterandthesurvivalofaplanecrash,RoaldDahl'slifecanbeseeninfluencinghis
workwitheverydetail.
RoaldDahlwasnotexactlyapitchperfectchildgrowingup.BeingborntoNorwegian
parents,DahldidnotgettoknowhisfatherwellashepassedwhenRoaldwasonly4yearsold.
ThisgapofnothavingafatherwasprobablyacatalystforDahl'smischievousandadventurous
childhood.Dahlwasknownbyhisclassmatesasbeingatroublesomeandenergeticstudent.This
relentlessenergywoulddirectDahlintomanyschooldaysofreceivingdisciplinaryactionbyhis
school'sadministrationforhisjokesandschemes.OneoftheworsttroublesDahlwould
eventuallyfindhimselfinwouldleadhimtobeingbeatbyhisownschoolteacher.Thiscanbe
seenin,DahlfirstattendedLlandaffCathedralSchool,wherehebeganaseriesofunfortunate
adventuresinschool.Afterheandseveralotherstudentswereseverelybeatenbytheprincipal

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forplacingadeadmouseinastorekeeper'scandyjar(NotableBiographies1).Dahls
continuouspranking,suchastheexampleabove,wouldeventuallycausethechildtobetaken
outofLlandaffCatholicSchoolandputintoseveralothersduringhisprimaryeducation.
OneofRoaldDahl'smostfamousbooks,
Matilda
,canbeinterpretedasbeinginfluenced
bytheauthorsmischievouschildhood.Themaincharacterofthestory,Matilda,isatalentedgirl
(LikeDahl)whohastoconstantlyputupwithhermeanandcrudeparents.LikeDahl,Matilda
hasanitchforpullingpranksonpeople.Oneoftheseprankscanbeseeninthethirdchapter,
whereMatildasecretlysupergluesherfather'shatontohishead.Thiscanbeseendirectlyin,
Matilda,holdingthehatinonehandandathintubeofSuperglueintheother,proceededto
squeezealineofglueveryneatlyallroundtheinsiderimofthehat.Thenshecarefullyhooked
thehatbackontothepegwiththewalkingstick.Shetimedthisoperationverycarefully,
applyingthegluejustasherfatherwasgettingupfromthebreakfasttable.MrWormwooddidn't
noticeanythingwhenheputthehaton,butwhenhearrivedatthegaragehecouldn'tgetitoff.
(Dahl4).Matildapulledamischievousprankliketheoneabove,justasDahlwouldhavedone
asakid.BothMatildaandDahlsharethesamecommonthemeofcomingfrombrokenfamilies,
asMatildahadcruelparents,whileDahlhadamissingfatherinhislife.NonCoincidentally,
bothproductsofthesebrokenfamiliessharemischievouspersonalitiesandasenseofhumor.
Matildaspassionforprankingisdefinitelyaresultofherauthorshistorywiththeact.Through
sceneslikethis,itbecomesveryclearthatRoaldDahlgainsinfluenceinhisbooksfromhisown
personalexperiences.
RoaldDahlisnotthefirstauthortohaveimplementedthemesandeventsinhisownlife
intohisbooks.Roaldisuniquehowever,asheimplementedratherscaryeventsinhisownlife,

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suchascrashingaplaneandbeingbeatenbyhisteacher,intoageappropriatetalesforchildren
ofallgenerationstoreadandenjoy.

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WorksCited
BrownStork,Charlotte."RoaldDahlsHeartbreakingLessonAboutChildhoodVaccinations."
ReadersDigest
.ReadersDigest,n.d.Web.11Apr.2016.
Dahl,Roald,andNancyEkholmBurkert.
JamesandtheGiantPeach:AChildren'sStory
.New
York:A.A.Knopf,1961.Print.
Dahl,Roald,andPatrickBenson.
TheMinpins
.NewYork,NY,U.S.A.:Viking,1991.Print.
Dahl,Roald,andQuentinBlake.
Matilda
.NewYork,NY:VikingKestrel,1988.Print.
Dahl,Roald."DeathofOlivia."
Roalddahl.com
.RoaldDahl,1986.Web.11Apr.2016.
"RoaldDahlBiography."
EncyclopediaofWorldBiography
.EncyclopediaofWorldBiography,
n.d.Web.11Apr.2016.
Sturrock,Donald."RoaldDahl:ThePlaneCrashThatGaveBirthtoaWriter."
TheTelegraph
.
TelegraphMediaGroup,09Aug.2010.Web.11Apr.2016.