Class 11 English Lesson4: The Wish by Roald Dahl

 

Lesson 4: The Wish by Roald Dahl

About the Story Writer

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He was born in Wales to Norwegian immigrant parents.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttodFgzpsZE  

Character in the Story:

•      Curious and Imaginative Young Boy

Theme of the Story

The story 'The Wish' is about a young boy's fantasy in which his carpet is alive with snakes and fire. Using imagery and metaphor. Dahl uses the character of a curiously imaginative young boy to help us reflect on the delicacy of our childhood innocence.  This story goes inside a young child’s mind to explore his imagination. This is about a young boy who had a frightening event in his childhood.

Summary of the Story

The child examines a scab of an old cut on his kneecap and picks it off with a fingernail. The scab lands on the edge of the carpet, a huge red, black, and yellow carpet that is bigger than the tennis lawn. The child is given a puppy for his birthday if he gets across safely without being burned or bitten. If he does, he will be given a puppy for his birthday. The child was allowed to walk on a carpet, but the risks were too great.

He was scared of snakes, so he placed one foot on a patch of yellow white the other foot on the carpet. He was able to stand with his two feet together and began his journey. The narrator is walking along a narrow channel of yellow, aiming carefully with his toe for a narrow channel of yellow on the other side. He takes another long stride over a mixture of black and red, waving his arms around to keep his balance. He is breathless and tense, but the fear of not getting the puppy compelled him to go on.

The most important details in this text are the steps the protagonist takes to cross the deep, curling river of black that runs across the width of the carpet. He takes the first step, placing his foot carefully upon the only little piece of yellow within reach. Then he takes the second step, placing his foot carefully upon the only little piece of yellow within reach. The snake stirs as though sensing his nearness, raises its head, and gazes at the foot with bright, beady eyes, watching to see if it is going to touch it. The child went high up on his toes and stayed there, frozen stiff with terror. The next step is a long one, as he is forced to cross the deep, curling river of black at its widest part.

He takes the third step, placing his foot carefully upon the narrow band of yellow on the other side, and then takes the fourth step, placing his foot carefully upon the narrow band of yellow on the other side. The most important details in this text are that the protagonist is stuck in a river of black and that he is trying to get back to his front foot. He glances down and sees a deep curling river of black underneath him, and that he is starting to go over to the right.

At the last moment, he instinctively puts out a hand to break the fall, and the next thing he sees is his bare hand going into the middle of the mass of black, and he gives a piercing cry as it touches it. Outside in the sunshine, the mother is looking for her son. 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGOS2jLCTNo 

Understanding the text (page 219) the text

Answer the following questions.

a.      What did the child do to the scab on his knee?

The child gently picked the scab off his cut with his fingernails. He put it on his thigh and flipped it with his finger.

b.     What kind of effect did the carpet have on the child?

The child became extremely amazed to see the red carpet. He had never really noticed it before in such a way. The different colors of carpet seemed to brighten mysteriously and spring out at him in a most dazzling way. He was thoroughly lost in those colors and his imagination.

c.      What was he afraid of while walking across the carpet?

He was afraid of the black poisonous snakes and the red coals while walking across the carpet.

d.     What motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue on his journey?
His wish of getting a puppy on his birthday or as a birthday gift motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue on his journey.

e.      What did the child see as he looked down on the black patterns of the carpet?
The child saw different colours brightening mysteriously. He kept on thinking in his imagination about the colours and their different forms. Hence, the child saw the poisonous snake with the oily body of the snake arising to catch or bite him as he looked down at the black patterns of the carpet.

 

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