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14. A Drive in the Motor-Car
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Authority and Hypocrisy
Beauty and Imagination
Growing Up
English Nationalism
Summary
Analysis
The meanest teacher (or “master”) at St. Peter’s is Captain Hardcastle, a thin and mustached Latin teacher who fought in World War I. In his narration, Roald comments that the rank of captain is a very low one, and that retaining the title as a civilian made Captain Hardcastle sound insecure. Whether because of Roald’s tall stature, his poor Latin skills, or his preoccupation with the mustache, he seems to be Captain Hardcastle’s least favorite student. In Roald’s second term during Prep, an hour in the evening for students to silently work on assignments, the nib of his pen breaks.
Captain Hardcastle’s authority comes not only from his role as a master at St. Peter’s, but also from his military past. Roald’s commentary suggests that Captain Hardcastle is the kind of man who tries to demand unearned respect from others. In other words, Captain Hardcastle hasn’t really earned his authority, which both explains his petty and insecure mistreatment of Roald and makes it all the more egregious.
Themes
Unable to raise his hand to ask for a new nib due to the strict rules of Prep, Roald turns to another student and quietly asks to borrow one. Unfortunately, Captain Hardcastle sees him talking from across the room and immediately accuses him of cheating. When Roald meekly protests, Captain Hardcastle accuses him of lying, too. He sends Roald to the St. Peter’s Headmaster to be caned the following morning. The Headmaster questions Roald about the incident, but when Roald tries to explain what happened, the Headmaster incredulously and immediately takes Captain Hardcastle’s side, calling him “an officer and a gentleman.”
Captain Hardcastle and the St. Peter’s Headmaster refuse to listen to Roald’s side of the story despite his best efforts. This behavior is the exact opposite of Roald’s mother’s when Roald played the dead mouse prank and Dr. Dunbar’s when Roald faked appendicitis, and in both of those cases, Roald actually did something wrong. Here, Roald is innocent—but Captain Hardcastle and the St. Peter’s Headmaster aren’t interested in justice. To the Headmaster, it's even shocking that Roald would presume to explain himself. Captain Hardcastle’s standing as a master and a captain renders Roald’s word completely invalid, underlining the way absolute authority perverts the truth.
Themes
The St. Peter’s Headmaster gives Roald six strokes with a cane. With great effort, Roald manages not to make a sound while he is being beaten. As he leaves in agony, he notices that the door to the masters’ common room across the hall is open, as if to be better able to hear the sounds of the cane from the Headmaster’s office. Roald concludes that Captain Hardcastle must have opened it and imagines him listening to Roald get caned. The other students rally around Roald and express sympathy for him, feeling that he’s been unjustly accused. One boy, Highton, even writes to his father on Roald’s behalf. Nothing results from it, but Roald is touched by the action.
Captain Hardcastle’s opening of the door closely echoes Matron’s standing at the top of the dormitory stairs. Both of them seem to take pleasure in the sound of the boys’ pain. Being strict is one thing, but strictness for the sake of sadism is quite another, and the fact that Matron and Captain Hardcastle can behave that way without consequences demonstrates the cruel indifference at the heart of St. Peter’s. It’s striking that the young boys show more empathy and care for one another than the adults who are paid to look after them. To Roald, the comradery between the children is one of the bright spots of his schooling, and it serves as a reminder that hierarchy itself is corruptive.
Themes
