The characters in Matilda

In this blog entry I will discuss the themes and characters from the book “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. Afterwards I will discuss how I think the book can be used in teaching.

“Matilda” is a book about the titular character, a young girl that has an amazing mind, and some magical powers as well. She lives with her very dysfunctional family; a father that verbally abuses her, and a mother and brother that neglects her. Despite of this Matilda is a genius that learnt how to talk by the age of two and learnt to read by the age of four. She spends her days at the local library reading books that librarian Mrs. Phelps finds for her. Eventually Matilda starts at school and her teacher is the young Miss Honey. Miss Honey is the only adult that sees Matilda`s potential and lets her read more complex book than the rest of the class. Meanwhile the schools headmaster, Miss Trunchbull, is ruling the school with an iron fist. The story revolves around how Matilda has to constantly fight back against her oppressors, mainly Miss Trunchbull and her own family.

The themes of the book revolve around the fact that Matilda is different, and the fact that being different is fine. Matilda`s fight against evil that is her parents and Miss Trunchbull is another theme in the book.

How to use it in the classroom?

In relation to how I would use Matilda in the classroom, I think there exist a lot of options. The book is quite long and will be difficult for many readers, so I would read the book aloud to the pupils. I also would use this book on some of the older pupils, maybe 4-7. Grade.

First and foremost after reading the book I would encourage a discussion about the themes described in the book. The book opens up for many questions that the pupils can think about. “What does it mean to be different?” “What do you think about the way Matilda is treated by her family?”

After this discussion I would make the pupils work with character cards related to the story (Munden & Myhre, 2015 s. 113) I would distribute the characters in the book amongst the pupils in small groups. With the help of a planning sheet the pupils will write about how the book describes the characters appearance, developments, statements and actions etc. This will help the pupils understand the contents of the text they have written better. They can also express their own reactions to the different characters.

The aims from LK06  (after 7. Year) that i think are relevant to this subject are:

•        Use basic patterns for pronunciation, intonation, word inflection and different types of sentences in communication.
•        Use reading and writing strategies
•        Understand the main content of texts one has chosen
•        Read children’s and youth literature in English and converse about persons and content
•        Express own reactions to English literary texts, films, internet culture, pictures and music

References:

• Dahl, R. (1988). Matilda. London: Puffin Books.

• Munden, Juliet and Myhre, A. (2015). Twinkle Twinkle. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.

• Utdanningsdirektoratet. (u.å). National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion in Primary and Secondary Education and Training. Retrieved 19.11.2015, from http://www.udir.no/kl06/eng1-03/Hele/Kompetansemaal/kompetansemal-etter-7.-arstrinn/?lplang=eng

By Marius A. Johansen