The Wish
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| Roald Dahl |
About the author
· Roald Dahl was born in Wales of Norwegian immigrant parents in 1916 and died in 1990.
· He was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter
· He spent his childhood in England and at the age of 18, went to work for the Shell Oil Company in Africa
· He joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot in the World War II
· At the age of twenty – six he moved to Washington, D.C. and began to write.
What is the story about?
· The story ‘The Wish’ is about a young boy’s fantasy in which his carpet comes alive with snakes and fire. Using imagery and metaphor, the author uses the character of a curiously imaginative young boy to help us reflect on the delicacy of our childhood innocence.
· This story goes inside the mind of a young child to explore his imagination. This is about young boy who had a frightening event in his childhood.
Answer the following questions.
a. What did the child do to the scab on his knee?
The child picked up the scab, put it on his thigh and flipped it with a finger so that it flew away and landed on the edge of the carpet. After the scab landed on the carpet, the child happened to imagine a risky game.
b. What kind of effect did the carpet have on the child?
The carpet had an exciting effect on the child. Setting his eyes upon the tremendous carpet, he felt mild pleasure and found the carpet mysteriously bright and unusually dazzling. He instantly imagined a risky game by generating meanings of three differently coloured patterns of the carpet.
c. What was he afraid of while walking across the carpet?
He was afraid of black snakes while walking across the carpet. He imagined black parts of the carpet as black snakes. He had to walk only on a yellow pattern which, according to him, was the safe zone. As he moved ahead, he began feeling nervous and therefore, he considered the black patterns as the real poisonous snakes.
d. What motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue on his journey?
A puppy for his birthday motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue his journey. He imagined that he would get the puppy as his birthday gift if he walked across the carpet safely. The beautiful puppy is the driver that encouraged him to start a risky journey.
e. What did the child see as he locked down on the black patterns of the carpet?
The child saw stirring and uncoiling black snakes as he looked down on the black patterns of the carpet. He saw them like a deep curling river of black underneath him. As he became nervous, he saw real snakes that were very big and poisonous. But in fact, they were black patterns of the carpet. Due to the increase in his nervousness, his imagination came true for that moment.
Reference to the context
a. The writer creates two voices in the story. Who are they?
The writer creates two voices in the story. They are the narrator and the only character in the story, the child. The narrator tells the story as if he knew everything and heard every word the boy uttered. The narrator is an omniscient character who tells the story from his own perspective and also presents the child’s voice. In other words, he presents an inclusive overview of events. It is one of the techniques of making the story interesting and real-like. The child is presented as a lifelike character in this story.
b. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
“……. the black parts are snakes, poisonous snakes, adders are mostly, and cobras, thick like tree trunks round the middle, and if I touch one of them, I’ll be bitten and I’ll die before tea time. And if I get across safely, without being burnt and without being bitten, I will be given a puppy for my birthday tomorrow.”
i. What does ‘the black part’ mean?
‘The black part’ means black pattern of the carpet which are imagined as poisonous black snakes by the child in his game to get the puppy.
ii. Who is the speaker?
The speaker is the child.
iii. Why doesn’t the speaker want to be burnt?
The speaker doesn’t want to be burnt up because he wants to walk across the carpet to be given him a puppy for his birthday the following day.
c. Which images and metaphors are used in the story?
Visual imagery or sight images are used in the story. While the child is talking about or imaging the poisonous black snakes, readers will form mental images of black snakes as they have seen in their real life and so is the case of burning fire or lump of coal. One also can see a beautiful puppy with their mental eyes.
Metaphor is a figure of speech used to compare two unrelated things or ideas. In this story, visual metaphors are used to create exciting effect. Black patterns of the carpet are compared with poisonous black snakes. Similarly, red patterns of the carpet are compared with the hot lumps of coal and yellow ones are with the safe zones.
d. The story shows the events through the eyes of the narrator and the child. Comparing the two styles, who presents a more interesting or effective view for the readers? Why?
The story shows the events through the eyes of the narrator and the child. The narrator presents a more interesting or effective view for the readers because he is an omniscient character who presents inclusive overview of the events. He tells the story as if he knows everything. He seems to have heard every word the child uttered and knew what he thought. This technique of narrating adds clarity on the part of the readers. The very style includes either voice through which readers get opportunity to know each of the perspectives.
The events presented through the eyes of the narrator reveal how the child happens to imagine such an exciting and risky game and how gravely he regards it and how he faces the obstacles on his journey to a beautiful puppy for his birthday. The style includes both voices which make the story complete in itself.
e. Is “The Wish” a story about self-confidence overcoming fear or about greed? Give your arguments.
‘The Wish’ is a story about self-confidence overcoming fear as the child regards the journey is risky and not easy but not as difficult as the whole length of the brick path from the stables to the summer house which he has already travelled without touching the cracks. Recalling his past triumph, he dares to advance for such a dangerous path to get the birthday gift that makes him stand between the death and reward.
He regards the yellow parts as the safe zones, and he also is confident that he can complete his journey from the stairs to the front door putting his feet only on the safe zones.
His imagination reveals the child’s psychological strength and confidence. It is evident that every danger poses a corner which is safe. Thus, it is his determination and self-confidence that inspires him to start and continue his journey even if it is risky. The puppy shouldn’t be taken as a matter of greed. Instead, it is merely an object of his destination.
Reference beyond the text.
a. Do you think our wish can be fulfilled? Why or why not?
I think wishes are of different types. Some them may be related to a missed opportunity and some may be completely hypothetical and impossible to come true, but some can be fulfilled in case the conditions are met. Thus, there is a rare chance of being our wish fulfilled.
In this story, the child’s wish is completely hypothetical and therefore, there is no chance to be fulfilled. The story ‘The Wish’ itself is proof that our wish cannot be fulfilled. This is a type of wish about which the child himself is aware of the fact that it will not come true. However, he takes it so gravely that the way he responds seems to be real.
b. Why do you think some people might have a frightening nature? What would you suggest to them to overcome it?
Some people have a frightening nature. I think it is because of their innocence. Fear results also from fantasy as it is presented in the story ‘The Wish’. Terror or horror initiates from the imagination. It rarely has an organic root. If someone tries to avoid fear, he/she can’t be free from it. On the contrary, People develop self-confidence and get maturity if they dare to overcome fear.
I would suggest to people who have a frightening nature not to be too nervous only by imagining danger, but they have to make an effort to overcome the fear. They should be self-confident and bold enough to face frightening things. One’s determination to achieve something inspires him/her to outwit the fear that resides only in fantasy and defeated psychology of the feared one.
