Boy Themes

From the drunk doctor who accidentally mangles Harald Dahl’s arm to the violent Headmaster at Repton, Roald Dahl’s memoir Boy is full of the author’s childhood encounters with authorities who  abuse their power. In particular, many of the stories in Boy deal with authority figures who take pleasure in violence. Matron, for instance, stands at the top of the dormitory stairs to listen to the sound of the St. Paul’s Headmaster…

If one is to agree with Roald Dahl’s father’s superstitious belief that pregnant women who surround themselves with beautiful things will give birth to children who inherit a love of beauty, then perhaps Roald’s own admiration for beauty began in utero. Nevertheless, a preoccupation with the beautiful and the wildly imagined runs through the entirety of Boy. Roald remembers his life outside of  St. Paul’s or Repton with particular fondness, reminiscing about…

In one sense, Boy is an immigrant story. Roald’s mother and father both emigrated from Norway to Britain, where Roald’s father establishes a successful business and makes his fortune. Harald’s dying wish is for his children to attend English schools, insisting that he’s heard everywhere that they are the best possible education available. This decision leads to almost all of the discomfort and unhappiness that Roald experiences in Boy, although he never blames…