How Does Roald Dahl Use Humor

You can find humor in many situations or stories. Humor can connect people to stories and the characters in the stories. Roald Dahl is an expert at using humor in his writings. Boy, Matilda, and Lamb to the Slaughter are just some examples where Roald Dahl’s has used humor successfully. Additionally, Dahl knows how to use different styles including low comedy and caricatures, but has also been successful with a more serious writing style.

Humor, especially in Roald Dahl’s work, can be interpreted in many ways. In the book Boy, most of the humor is hidden, low comedy, but can create a little chuckle or titter from the reader. For example, the Great Mouse Plot, where Roald and his friends place a dead mouse in one of Mrs. Pratchett’s candy jars. Dahl realized that his crazy idea that didn’t turn out so well could be seen as very funny.“‘Why don't we’, I said, ‘slip it into one of Mrs Pratchett’s jars of sweets? Then when she puts her dirty hand in to grab a handful, she’ll grab a sticky dead mouse instead.’”(Dahl 36). All in all, silly childish humor creates a need to read on and find out what happens.

The book is about a girl who slowly recognizes her powers, most of it is exaggerated but that’s what makes it great. Miss Trunchbull, the headmaster of Matilda’s school, is used as a big caricature. He uses descriptive language to have the readers envision her in their minds. She is described like a giant, puts kids into the “chokey”, and hammer throws them by their hair. By giving only one certain character a caricature, it makes the plot of characters a lot more funny. Overall using a caricature is a great tool for humorous