Roald Dahl s Influence On Today s Society. Elijah Espinoza. Mr. Mark Schuerer. 4th Hour

Transcription

1 Roald Dahl s Influence On Today s Society Elijah Espinoza Mr. Mark Schuerer 4th Hour 1 May 2015

2 Roald Dahl was born in and grew up in Wales. He served in the British air force during World War II, where he became an ace and an officer, and eventually through hard work and dedication achieved wing commander. He wrote many books in the 1940 s with books for both children and adults and became one of the world's best selling authors. He has been called one of the greatest children's authors of the 20th century. Among his awards for literature, he received many awards such as author of the year in Britain. In 2008 Dahl was placed 16th on the list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"( The Times). Dahl has positively influenced today's society by affecting many people during the years where they can be the most influenced, their childhood. Through Dahl's self selected medium of children's literature, he has been able to mend and demonstrate to young readers that they should be self confident, learn to use their words wisely so they do not lie and or exaggerate, and that in order to find or achieve something that isn't necessarily the easiest to obtain, one s self has to have faith and believe that they will eventually find what they are searching for. Roald Dahl, through my own experiences, has demonstrated the necessity of self respect as well as the importance of honesty and truthful speaking by including specific examples in his books that are easy for young children to understand and relate to. Dahl has also shown the importance of believing in something that you may not have necessarily seen while having enough faith to give yourself an opportunity to one day see or come to truly believe. Dahl's positive influence on today's society has no measure but can be appreciated through his efforts to promote self confidence and positive thoughts. Roald Dahl has a way of explaining otherwise difficult topics to children by dumbing down the context to a point where children can understand and apply what they have learned.

3 Dahl states in an interview: I find that the only way to make my characters really interesting to children is to exaggerate all their good or bad qualities, and so if a person is nasty or bad or cruel, you make them very nasty, very bad, very cruel. If they are ugly, you make them extremely ugly. That, I think, is fun and makes an impact. In Roald Dahl s popular book The Twits he states: If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. (Roald Dahl, The Twits, pg 8 ) I believe that in the previous quote, Roald Dahl demonstrated to children that no matter how unattractive or different you may be, It has no matter as long as you can believe in yourself and have enough self confidence to truly believe that you are not ugly, but are a beautiful individual. I think this quote has a great meaning not only to children but to the general public as well because of the judgemental world we live in today. So many people are self conscious and are not comfortable with themselves, so in writing this quote, Dahl has positively influenced and helped many people. I also think the quote touches the topic of self confidence, I think that Confidence in the right amounts can and will shine through your insecurities and blemishes to bring out a more powerful person who is comfortable with themselves and thinks of them self in a positive way.

4 With so many people struggling with their own insecurities, Dahl has helped not only children, but adults as well. The quote can be applied to much more that just one topic, the quote tailors to physical characteristics yes, but to mental issues as well. I believe that Dahl is trying to explain to people that any individual should have more positive thoughts in order to minimize their negative thoughts. For example when doing a tedious task, negative thoughts are bound to arise and when they do, the task tends to feel tougher. When having positive thoughts people tend to get a pep in their step and the task becomes less of of a burden. Thus jobs tend to not be as bad and they are done and completed faster and usually completed of a higher quality job. I think Dahl is saying that positive thoughts are good no matter the situation whether it be school, work or a tough task, positive thoughts will always help the situation. The way Dahl has positively influenced today's society through this quote is extremely important, he has demonstrated the necessity of self respect and confidence. Dahl has also explained the importance of having positive thoughts in a way that small children can comprehend what is being said to a point where they can apply what they have learned and heard, to everyday life. Roald Dahl shows through his writing that the manipulation of words is not a positive thing. Through his statements in the The BFG, Dahl states that you should not mess around with words by saying: Don't gobblefunk around with words. ( Roald Dahl, The BFG, pg 56) The quote is brief and to the point but still I believe Dahl's quote is extremely applicable to today's society in stating that you shouldn't "gobblefunk" with words. This has the meaning

5 that you shouldn't exaggerate and stretch the truth and or lie. With honesty beings a fading factor in today's world, Dahl cannot have have a better issue to address. Honesty when speaking, is something that in my own experiences, people tend to have issues with. From small ages many people understand how to lie and use it with no regards to the consequences. Still today my peers and I lie and exaggerate to attempt to make ourselves seem or feel better about something or even to get out of trouble, when in reality being honesty is the best option in most cases. I believe this quote is extremely applicable to today's media as well. Honesty and accuracy in the media are what the general public expects when listening to or reading the news. When someone lies it makes everything they say come to question. That person will be labeled as a liar and their statements will be questioned from then on. Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. ( Dahl) I believe Dahl's point on this particular quote is that if you're not actively searching or believing in something you will never the the chance or opportunity to actually see or achieve what you are looking for. I think he means that you have to put in effort in to what you are looking or searching for, in order to actually see or achieve what you are working toward. I think the quote can be applied to religion as well. I believe that an individual can't be very attached and actually feel God s presence if they are not actively seeking and anticipating his presence. I believe that in order to find something or achieve something you have to work for it you can't just rely on it to fall into your lap whatever it may be.

6 Roald Dahl is mainly known for his books and literature, but has an incredible influence on many individuals through his movies. Dahl has had several of his books become movies such as Matilda (1996), Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (1971), James and The Giant Peach (1996), and movies alike. These movies are tailored toward children as are the books, and have become popular childrens movies that most people have seen. Dahl s movies provide another way to positively influence the world by changing his influence from a book to an entertaining movie. For example in Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, the movie demonstrates that if you work hard and stay humble it will pay off in the end as Charlie did by winning the prize off owning the chocolate factory. Roald Dahl s positive influence on today s society is something that can be enjoyed for many generations and years to come. With his focuses on topics such as being self confident and comfortable with yourself, having faith in something that you can't necessarily see or feel to ultimately reach a goal, and being truthful and honest when speaking or writing, Roald dahl has positively influenced many people young and old. Roald Dahl is an author that has demonstrated to the young many of lifes lessons that will positively affect the world.

7 Works Cited Dahl, Roald, and Quentin Blake. The BFG. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, Print. Dahl, Roald, and Quentin Blake. The Twits. New York: Knopf, Print. Treglown, Jeremy. Roald Dahl: A Biography. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, Print.