Matilda novel analysis

Hello everyone welcome to my blog! My name is Ida Ayu Kadek Shevany Natasya Dewi (2012021135), today I want to make some analysis from some novels and the title of that novel is Matilda. Matilda is a book by British author Roald Dahl. Published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London.  Before we do the analyses, let’s see the synopsis of Mathilda’s novel and Biography of the author.

Synopsis of Matilda

In this novel the author tells about a little girl named Matilda who likes to read. Unlike other parents, Matilda's parents were not proud of their child's prowess. Matilda's parents think that women should not study. Matilda's mother named Mrs. Wormwood thought only of playing binggo and was selfish with himself. while the father of Matilda named Mr. Wormwood he was so cunning, he even changed the wreckage and reduced the mileage to look like a new car and then sold it. Methylda's father also never obeyed Matilda when she asked for a book. because his parents did not care about his hobby he decided to go to the library in his village. there he met Mrs. Phelps who helped him find the book.

Seeing that several children had started school, he asked his father to enroll him in one of the schools in his village called Crunchem Hall Primary School. There he meets Lavender, new friends, Miss Honey, and Miss Truchbull. Miss Truchbull is a school principal who is cruel to her students, she even doesn't hesitate to throw, and do physical and mental violence against her students. Miss honey is one of the teachers in Matilda's class who really likes Matilda, after some time they finally got closer. miss honey then invites Matilda to her cottage and tells her that Miss Truchbull is her aunt, she says that Miss Truchbul has taken her house and killed her father. After hearing this, Matilda was very upset and wanted to take revenge on Miss Honey and the other students against Miss Truchbull. unexpectedly he turned out to have the power of his eyes which he then used to prank Miss Truchbull.

The plan was successful and made Miss Truchbull out of the village. Miss Honey also got her house back. Matilda's mother and father are being targeted by the police, which makes them want to flee to Spain. But Matilda doesn't want to go with them and chooses to stay with Miss Honey. His wish was granted because his father and mother just let him go

 

After see the synopsis, now let’s take a look of the Biography of the author.

Biography of Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is a well-known author of Norwegian descent who was born in Wales, England. Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916, in Llandaff, South Wale. Apart from writing, Roald Dahl was also a natural athlete, an accomplished pilot of the British Air Force (RAF) during WWII, and a talented photographer. His writings are very well known in the form of novels and short stories (for children and adults), he also writes film scripts. His most famous works are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, The BFG, and Kiss Kiss. His father, named Harald Dahl, is a Norwegian man from Sarpsborg, while his mother Sofie Magdalene Dahl née Hasselberg is Harald Dahl's second wife. His first wife, Marie, died giving birth to their second child. Roald started school at Llandaff Cathedral School (Llandaff Cathedral School). In 1953 Roald married Patricial Neal, who was an Academy Award-winning American artist. Here are the names of their children Olivia, Theo Dahl, Ophelia Dahl, Tessa Dahl, Lucy Dahl.

After read about the Biography of Roald Dahl lets start the analysis. Frist let talk about Character

1.    Character

In a novel Character is an important thing. without the characters the story of a novel cannot run smoothly. Here is a chacater that I found in Matilda's novel:

Protagonist:

·       Matilda Wormwood She is the Main Protagonist in this novel. Because Matilda is the main character of the story, she also has a good character, although sometimes she is mischievous but the pranks she does are just to get her father's attention, not harm.

·       Miss Honey. She is supporting Protagonist. Miss Honey is the protagonist because she has a good character, which is to love all of her students. She also protects her students from Trunchbull's unreasonable punishment.

·       Lavender is also supporting Protagonist. Because she was very brave in fighting the evil that is Trunchbull. He also planned some elaborate pranks on Trunchbull to deter her.

·       Fred is the Protagonist. He is Matilda's friend and neighbor who owns a parrot. He even lent his parrot to Matilda to use in a trick against the Matilda family.

·       Mrs. Phelps is a Supporting Protagonist. She is the village librarian. She was very good at treating Matilda and she also helped Matilda pursue her love of reading.

 

Antagonist:

·      Miss Trunchbull is the main Antagonist. Because he is very angry and tries hard to torture the children in the school with unreasonable punishments, he even throws his students roughly as he did to Amanda Thripp.

·     Mr. Wormwood is a Supporting Antagonist. Mr. Wormwood is the antagonist, even though he is Matilda's father. He is short-tempered, negligent, dishonest in his efforts, arrogant, shabby, and he shows no interest in his daughter. even at the end of the story he very easily let his child go to miss honey

·   Mrs. Wormwood is supporting Antagonist although Mrs. Wormwood is Matilda's mother she is also antagonistic. Just like her husband, she doesn't pay attention to her children and often leaves Matilda alone at home since she was little just to go out to play bingo.

·    Michael Wormwood is Antagonist. Just like his parents even though Michael is Matilda's older brother, he doesn't care about Matilda. He also followed and was taught the evil nature of his father. 

 

Flat: 

·     Bruce Bogtrotter is a Flat character because readers only know very little about these characters. The existence of this character also does not change the story

·     Nigel Hicks is a Flat character. He is a dashing boy in Miss Honey's class who is initially scorned by Trunchbull because his hands are dirty and unwashed. It can be said that the character of Nigel Hicks includes Flat because the author does not have depth for this character. Readers also know very little about this character. The existence of this character also does not change the story

·    Amanda Thripp characters include flat because the author lacks depth for this character. The author also does not develop characters, and readers know very little about these characters. The existence of this character also does not change the story

·    Hortensia is also Flat. She is Deputy Head of Prep Crunchem, who replaced Miss Trunchbull when she disappeared. Readers also don't know much about him so it can be categorized as a Flat character

·    Prudence is also Flat. She is A girl in Miss Honey's class who spells "difficulty" correctly on the first try when asked to by Miss Trunchbull. he also doesn't have a big influence in this storyline, so it can be categorized as Flat

·     Miss Plimsoll is Flat. Miss Plimsoll teaches the highest-grade classes in Crunchem. Readers don't know much about him so it can be categorized as Flat 

·   Mr. Trilby is also Flat. He is Deputy Head of Prep Crunchem, who replaced Miss Trunchbull when she disappeared. readers also don't know much about him so it can be categorized as a Flat character

·     Magnus Flat is also flat. He is Miss Honey's father, who died mysteriously when she was five and left her in the care of her abusive Aunt Trunchbull. This character also has no effect on the storyline, because he is dead so he can be categorized as a flat character

2.    Point of View

 

Now let’s talk about Point of View in Matilda by Roald Dahl. Most of the content of Matilda's novels, the author uses a third-person and omniscient point of view to tell the story. where in point-to-point the reader focuses on Matilda and her thoughts and feelings. but in some parts, the writer sometimes uses the first person view like "If I were a teacher, I would cook up some real scorers for the children of doting parents'' this quote is found on page 4 where the author uses the word "I" which denotes the First person point of view. Another example is “I might write ‘is a curious truth that grasshoppers have their hearing-organs in the sides of the abdomen. Your daughter Vanessa, judging by what she learned this term, has no hearing-organs at all.” This sentence is found on page 4 in the first chapter where the author uses the word "I" which denotes the First person point of view. The last example is I think I might enjoy writing end-of-term reports for the stinkers in my class. But enough of that. We have to get on. In the first chapter where the author uses the word "I" which denotes the First person point of view

3.    Settings

And now let's discuss the List of Settings in. In the settings there are settings for place and time information. Examples of setting the description of the place used are: 

·         high street in English Village 

·         small cottage, near the rice fields 

·         Matilda small bedroom 

·         big house and tall (describe Matilda house)

·         in the living room 

·         village library, English village 

·         The village school called Crunchem Hall Primary School

In addition to setting the time setting is also used. Now let see the setting of time in Matilda's novel:

·         Afternoon (“on the afternoon of the day when her father had refused to buy her a book,” (pp. 8, "From then, on every afternoon, as soon as her mother had left for bongo Matilda would toddle down to the library" (pp. 9), “over the next few afternoons Mrs. Phelps could hardly take her eyes from the small girl sitting for hour after hour in the big armchair at the far end of the room with the book on her lap” (pp. 11). Dapat kita lihat kebanyakan waktu yang diceritakan oleh penulis pada siang hari. 

·         Evening (“I want go home now and think and think about all the things I’ve heard this afternoon” (pp. 202), “the two of them stayed sitting and talking in the kitchen for an hour or so longer, and then, at about six o’clock, Matilda said goodnight and set to walk home to her parents’’ house, which was about an eight minutes journey away.” (pp.225). but sometimes juga terdapat waktu evening. 

4.   Plot Structure

After talking about the setting, now let’s move to the plot structure. Plot structure is the pattern of events from the form of the story. As for the plot structure I got in Matilda's novel:

1.    Exposition

In the sentence “Mr. and Mrs. wormwood were two such parents. They had a son called Michael and a daughter called Michael and a daughter called Matilda, and the parents looked upon Matilda in particular as nothing more than a scab” (pp 6),"It is bad enough when parents treat ordinary children as though they were scabs and bunions, but it becomes somehow a lot worse when the child in question is extra-ordinary, and by that I mean sensitive and brilliant" (pp 6) , "Matilda brother Michael was a perfectly normal boy, but the sister as I said was something to make your eyes pop." (pp 7) and "By the time she was three, Matilda has taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house" (pp 7). We can conclude that the main character in this novel is a child named Matilda, her mother, father and also her brother. And she has unusual intelligence. And another Exposition is “Nearly every weekday afternoon Matilda was left alone in the house. Her brother (five years older than her) went to school. Her father went to work and her mother went out playing bingo in a town eight miles away” (pp.8) and “On afternoon of the day when her father had refused to buy her a book, Matilda set out all herself  to walk to the public library in the village” (pp.8). In these two sentences we can conclude the situation of the main character's house. And in the sentence “She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She traveled all over the worlds while sitting in her little room in an English village” (pp 17).  We also can find out where the events of Matilda's novel are, thus adding to the background knowledge of the novel. I think another part of the Exposition in this novel is when the author introduces Miss Honey and Trunchbull as in "The head teacher, the boss, the supreme commander of this establishment, was a formidable middle-aged land whose name was miss Trunchbull" (pp. 62) and "naturally Matilda was put in the bottom class where there was eighteen other small boys and girls about the same age as her. their teacher was called miss honey and she could not have been mote twenty-three or twenty-four" (pp.62) In this section, the author introduces the age range of Miss Honey, who she is, and who is the principal in that school and also the number of Matilda's classmates.

2.    Main Conflict 

I think part of the Main Conflict in this novel is when there is a fight between opposing forces. In this novel, there are also more main conflicts External, namely conflicts between characters. like the conflict between Matilda and her father " 'you couldn't' the father said 'you're too stupid' (pp18) or when Matilda and Trunchbull "the Trunchbull sensed what the child was thinking and she didn't like it" (pp 151)

3.    Rising Action 

I think the Rising action part of this novel is when Matilda discovers she has powers with her eyes. Like in the part When her best friend Lavender puts a newt in Miss Trunchbull water. Miss Trunchbull blamed Matilda. Then Matilda used her power to drop a glass of water. " 'Tip it!' Matilda whispers 'hand it over'" (pp. 160). The reason I say this section is escalating action is because in this section the reader can find out that Matilda has the power to fight the Trunchbull. So, the reader can know that there will be a war between Matilda and Trunchbull.

4.    Climax 

The climax in this novel is when Matilda helps miss honey by scaring Trunchbull with her powers by writing a message as if it was from miss honey's father. And it managed to scare him as shown on page 215 "'what the blaze is this?' yelled the Trunchbull. it has shaken her to see her own first name being written like that by an invisible hand." (pp 215). Trunchbull finally fainted from fear "miss honey ran forward and knelt beside the prostrate giant " she fainted" she cried. 'She's out cold! someone go and fetch the matron at once '' three children ran out of the room” (pp219). All of these can be said as a climax because all of that moment the reader reaches the peak of tension and the point in the story that everything changes.

5.    Falling Action

The falling action in this novel is when Matilda succeeds in making Miss Trunchbull leave the school, “The next morning she did not turn up at school. At lunchtime, Mr. Trilby, the deputy head, telephoned her house to inquire if she was feeling unwell. There was no answer to the phone." and Miss Honey's life is starting to fall back into place. “Miss honey had in fact been the rightful owner of the property in the edge of the village known as the red house” and of course when Matilda is able to skip some grades and finally feels challenged in school. The reason I say this that is Falling action because some of these things happen towards the end of the story after the climax or it can be said that it is the result and resolution of the climax or major conflict

6.    Resolution 

The resolution in this novel is when Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood and their son head moving to Spain without Matilda because people found out about her dad's phony business. “And now somebody's probably tipped him off that the police are on to hum and he's doing what they all do, running off to Spain where they can’t get him” (pp 229) and when Matilda and Miss Honey become a family and never have to think about their horrible families again "I would love to have Matilda,' miss honey said 'I would look after her with loving care, Mr. Wormwood and I would pay for everything. She wouldn't cost you a penny. But it was not my idea, it was Matilda's. and I will not agree to take her without your full and willing consent" (pp 231) Because at this moment the author shows the readers that Matilda has finally found her happiness and the story can also have a happy ending.

5.   Theme 

Move to the theme, after reading about plot structure. The theme is an important thing in the novel because the existence of a theme allows the reader to connect with the book being read. The existence of a theme allows them to relate what is happening to the characters with what is happening in real life. As for the theme I got in Matilda's novel

a.    Main Theme: The main theme in Roald Dahl's novel Matilda is that good will always triumph over evil. This can be proven by the victory of Matilda and Miss Honey against the Bullies in this story, namely Mrs. Trunchbull, principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School. And managed to leave his dishonest father.

b.    Additional themes: In addition to the theme of fighting evil for good, each chapter also finds a different theme; it can be said that this is an additional theme from Matilda's novel. The first is Education, such as when Trunchbull tortures students physically and mentally which is a wrong action in education. Then there is the theme of The Supernatural, this is evidenced by the presence of magic in Matilda's eyes. Then there is Fear and Violence as evidenced by the Trunchbull torture which makes children afraid to go to school with physical, mental, and emotional violence, both children and adults. Next there is Family. That family is not always something kind, loving, and safe. In this book Matilda's parents emotionally abuse and neglect her. Even though Matilda finally got a new family. And the last theme is Freedom and Confinement. This is evidenced by the release of students from unreasonable punishments such as The Chokey and the release of Characters such as Miss Honey and Matilda in their unfavorable family situation.

 

6.    Tone 

Now move to the tone. In literary terms, tone is something that refers to the implied mood of the choice of words the author uses in his novel and the way the text can make the reader feel it. Not only that, the tone used by the author can help evoke a number of emotions and perspectives. as for the tone I got in Matilda's novel:

It seems that the tone used in this novel is Enthusiastic and Brave. The tone is proven by "You're darn right it's like a war," Hortensia cried. "And the casualties are terrific. We are the crusaders, the gallant army fighting for our lives with hardly any weapons at all and the Trunchbull is the Prince of Darkness, the Foul Serpent, the Fiery Dragon with all the weapons at her command. It's a tough life. We all try to support each other." (pp.105) the author describes the events with great enthusiasm and detail. So that readers can feel the different sensations.

7.   Style

After tone now let’s talk about style. I think the style used is Hyperbolic. This book is very hyperbolic, namely exaggerating something so that you feel bored, such as: "This clot," boomed the Headmistress, pointing the riding-crop at him like a rapier, "this black-head, this foul carbuncle, this poisonous pustule that you see before you is none other than a disgusting criminal, a denizen of the underworld, a member of the Mafia!" (pp.115). Trunchbull, style it too much as notice the hyperbole with "blood clots," "blackheads," "rotten rot," and "poisonous pustules." Almost all of these terms describe growth. Like acne. So, all this fancy-sounding language is really just telling Bruce he's like a pimple. Sure, he could have said that, but it would have been a lot less hysterical.

8.   Impact of reading Matilda to a certain aspect of someone's life

All right after read all the analysis of Matilda’s novel now, I will add my perspective of the impact that can happen in certain aspects of life, here I take it from the aspect of parent-child relations and education paradigm

·         Parent-child relation

In my opinion, the impact of Matilda's novel in the world of parent-child relations is twofold, namely from the perspective of the child and also the parents. when viewed from the child's point of view, readers (children) will know that families are not always harmonious. and they will also be grateful for the current state of their family (such as their parents who always take care of them unlike Matilda's parents.) If the reader is a parent, they will know that the love, support and attention they give to their child is very important in their growth. child. because not all children are like Matilda, who dares to refute (in negative terms) what her parents say or dares to come to the library secretly. Of course, if parents or children read this novel, it will have a different impact and perspective.

·         Education paradigm

In my opinion, the impact of Matilda's novel in the world of education paradigm is that teachers can imagine and learn that sadistic punishment or violence, both verbally and physically, are things that cannot be done to children. If education is run like Miss Trunchbull did, the world of education will be destroyed, and children will be even more afraid to come to school. So that the education paradigm will be affected to improve the learning system that is more effective, efficient and without violence against children

Allright everyone, thats all i can write about my alaysis in matilda's novel. if you have any question, suggestion, or criticism you can write it in the comments or send it to my email dayukadek83@gmail.com. Thank you for reading until end, I hope you have a beautiful day!