Roald Dahl’s Word Exploration
By Natasha Ng
Two marvelous books, The BFG and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, both written by Roald Dahl, are probably the funniest and the best books that Roald Dahl wrote. They both have funny made-up words and ridiculous sentences that are filled humorously. That’s why many people like to read Dahl’s most famous books and get inspired by them.
Adults and young kids both read these books. Dahl creates strong adult/child relationships throughout his books. The way Dahl probes the roles of adults and children, makes it appropriate for adults to read, but the books are at a standard level for children. He writes strong relationships in both negative and positive ways throughout the books. Take Charlie and Grandpa Joe: there is mutual respect and friendship there. But with Mrs. Trunchbull and her students (especially Matilda) and her colleagues (like Ms. Honey), the relationship is terrible. Likewise, the BFG is the only friendly giant; the rest of the giants gobble children up every night, all over the world. The relationships between children and adults are abnormally strong in Dahl’s work. Also, the way that Dahl cleverly plots his books, especially The BFG, makes it seem that he is the character, not just the author.
Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket are from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. The BFG and Sophie however, are from The BFG. The two main characters of the books, Willy Wonka and the BFG, both make up words like “Kitimbibi” (Willy Wonka) and “whiffswiddle” (The BFG). This is a direct line to understanding Dahl’s love of words. Another reason that the words have a direct line to understanding Dahl: his characters are inventive themselves! Dahl uses made-up words to emphasize the bad grammar of the BFG. And the same situation goes for Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Dahl uses made-up words to express how Wonka always “footles” around. These kinds of stories are attractive, humorous and great. How are they great? They are great because they have action and are very entertaining.
Although you might think that the words the BFG and Willy Wonka make up are similar, they are actually very, very different. How are they different? The BFG uses made-up words that other giants in his Giant Country often use. Willy Wonka, however, doesn’t make mistakes; instead, he uses human made-up words and other totally nonsensical made-up words. He makes up these words when he or his friends are in danger, but The BFG uses words when he is serious as well as when he is in his normal routine. Also, The BFG’s possessions and home are very different from Willy Wonka’s. Everything from The BFG could be from an alternate reality – well almost everything. Everything in Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator are already invented on Earth, except, of course, the Great Glass Elevator and the Space Hotel.
Roald Dahl is really one of the greatest writers of the world and I wish to read more of his books. Everything that he plans in his mind is terrific and humorous, that’s what makes him the best.