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2. Kindergarten, 1922-23
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
At age seven, Roald starts attending a preparatory school for boys called Llandaff Cathedral School. Although he went there for two years, he only has two clear memories of his time there. The first is when he sees a boy riding a bicycle down a steep hill with his hands crossed on his chest, a sight that fills Roald with delight and awe. The boy cuts such a striking figure that Roald resolves to do the same thing one day.
That the image of the boy riding a bicycle with his arms crossed is one of Roald’s earliest memories suggests that he has indeed inherited his father’s love of whimsy and beauty. The boy encapsulates both whimsy and adventure—after all, his recklessness in riding down such a steep hill without his hands on the handlebars also seems to be part of what appeals to Roald so much.
Themes
Roald’s second memory is of the sweet shop that he and his friends go to every day. The licorice bootlaces are Roald’s favorite, even though one of his friends, Thwaites, insists that they’re made from the blood of dead rats. Although Roald and his friends are obsessed with candy, they hate Mrs. Pratchett, the owner of the shop. Roald describes Mrs. Pratchett as a thin, ugly old woman who is extremely dirty and rude. He and his friends resolve to get back at her somehow, but they don’t know how—until one day, they find a dead mouse.
The obsessions of Roald and his friends—candy and petty vengeance—highlight their youth. Details like Thwaites’s explanation of the ingredients in licorice bootlaces also humorously illustrate the naivete and gullibility of young children. Throughout Roald’s coming of age, he often travels around with a big pack of other young boys. In environments where authorities and adults like Mrs. Pratchett can’t be trusted, the bonds between Roald and his fellow classmates are some of the only bright points in his schooling.
Themes
