Reading Log - Boy-Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

How does the text relate to the theme of a journey?

I dare say that all of us grow physically and mentally and know ourselves well through journeys in our life. Hence, there is also no exception for the author of this book, Roald Dahl. The Book is about his childhood, his experiences and the very first part of his journey of life –from age 0 to 20. By and large, our journey at this stage, which we experienced in our childhood, is rather similar. We would be naughty, we would be homesick, we would be curious about many things, we would be bullied by the old ones, we would be afraid of teachers, headmasters or even the warden, who are serious and yet terribly strict because they would spank us – all these happened to Roald Dahl. As an ordinary child, he was naughty and put a dead mouse into the jar of Gobstopper in Mrs Pratchett’s little sweet-shop, causing him to be caned later by his headmaster. As a result, he was so fear of being punished, although his buttocks were whipped two more times later on. And, due to homesickness, he pretended to have appendicitis so that he could go home. During his time at Repton, he was bullied and oppressed by the so-called “Boazers” prefects and seniors. Being a servant rather than a Fag, he was ordered to clean their rooms and even to“warm up” the bog-seat. Besides, he was so inquisitive about the reason why his headmaster, who always caned his students, would be able to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. Full with fascinating events and sweet memories, I would say that the starting of our journey is unique and wonderful.

What is the main issue in the text?

In my opinion, Roald Dahl would tremble and yelp when he heard the word “cane”, because it was undeniably the cruel weapon possessed by teachers and headmasters that could wound his buttocks and bring him unbearable pain. In fact, corporal punishment, the main issue in this novel, haunted not only the author, but also his fellow friends. Altogether he was spanked two times and was able to give vivid and detailed descriptions of the “caning ceremony” – I should conclude that the cane has left an irremovable scar in his memories. First, he was whipped for playing a prank on Mrs Prechatt. Then, when he was at St.Peter’s, he was given six strokes by the headmaster because of talking in Prep, trying to cheat and lying, even though he was innocent. As a matter of fact, he did use one sub-chapter to describe his headmaster at Repton and his “performance” of giving physical punishment to his poor friend, Michael. He even questioned about the eligibility of his headmaster to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. Furthermore, some perfect examples which show that spanking was his nightmare are the illustrations of a cane on page 46, 120 and 144. Through the words besides, “The cane”, “The cane again” and “…and again!”, it is easily known that Roald Dahl was really afraid of caning, spanking, flogging, whipping….of corporal punishment.

What quality do you admire or dislike in a character?

As one of the antagonists in the story, Captain Hardcastle has given me a bad image and impression. It seems like he looked down the students; he treated them like insects, over which he must have the power first, or else they will turn and “bite” him. Also, he was believed to be a little revengeful – he had it in for the author, probably because Roald Dahl was not good at Latin, or maybe it is because he discovered that the author found his giant orange moustache unpleasant. Besides that, it is exceptionally true to say that he was not very friendly due to his weird appearance and his strictness. He was not sympathetic at all, since he disallowed a student to go to toilet during the Prep until the poor student wet his pants. To make me dislike him more, he was so arrogant and self-absorbed, and the author was, unfortunately, one of the “victims”. Captain Hardcastle did not give any chance to him to explain or to defend himself, when Roald Dahl was caught talking in the Prep. Instead, he accused him cheating and eventually gave him a Stripe, a document issued to students with poor work and bad behaviour. At the end, Roald Dahl was given a few strokes by the headmaster, while Captain Hardcastle was satisfied with the punishment. With all these points in hand, it could be generally accepted that Captain Hardcastle is tough, tyrannous as well as arrogant.

How does the text develop your understanding of the world?

Unfortunately, discrimination, abuse of power and bullying still exist in this world, but nowadays they are not as chronic as before, as the way of thinking of people is changing and revolutionizing. During the 18th Century, people pay a very high respect to some members of the society, for instance, teachers and headmasters. Slowly, it leads to their abuse of power. Even if they are on the wrong side, they would not be blamed. In this novel, the headmaster, Mr Coombes punished Roald Dahl by flogging his backside until stripes and bruises appeared. Though the author had done something wrong, the headmaster should not punish a 9-year-old child in such a cruel yet inhuman way. Despite the complaint made by Dahl’s mother, Mr Coombes was, however, furious about the complaint and he even suggested that Roald Dahl should be transferred to another school. Besides, abuse of power as well as discrimination can also be exemplified by the punishment given by Captain Hardcastle and the headmaster at St.Peter's. Without any proper investigation, they accused the author of trying to cheat in the Prep. Furthermore, the seniors at school would also bully the juniors, sometimes even try to pick a bone in the eggs – Carleton, the Head of the House, forced his three Fags to admit that they failed to clean his study, although the room was already sparkling clean. All of these were so unfair!

However, these problems are being overcome nowadays, since human rights are prioritized and upheld in today’s society. Corporal punishment has drawn people’s attention, while bullying is being curbed by several methods. Through this text, I would be able to compare the situation of these problems before and after, and I am glad that drastic actions have been taken to fight against these social diseases.