Triumphing Over Tyranny on a Road Trip with Roald Dahl
On a long drive to London with the kids recently, I played the audiobook of two Roald Dahl classics.
The Twits and George’s Marvellous Medicine.
I was instantly taken back to my childhood and honestly, I think I enjoyed it more than them!
It’s been probably 25 years since I’ve read those and the details in my mind were hazy.
It was not just me revelling in nostalgia, although of course it was wonderful to reminisce. The good ol' days!
I had forgotten much of the intricate magic in his stories, the extremely descriptive features and larger-than-life characters.
You really get a sense of how horrid the tyrannical Twits were and how beastly George’s grandma was.
That’s what great storytelling is, it should make you FEEL something.
I found myself mentally willing George on as he poured anything and everything into his giant saucepan.
In my minds' eye, I found myself rooting for Mugglewump the monkey as he planned the ultimate upside-down revenge on the Twits.
In pretty much every story, there is an evil tyrant or despicable character that needs to be defeated by the innocent in an act of defiance or bravery.
And there’s a sense of satisfaction that the good protoganist (almost always a child) always wins over the bad guy in the end.
You really believe that the small, the weak, the oppressed and the broken can fight back and defeat the strong.
Despite the difficult tests and hardship the character suffers throughout, our faith in justice and in goodness is restored. Hope is retained. And the lesson that it doesn’t pay to be horrible is reinforced.
Sweet, satisfying revenge.
In these dark times, sometimes the ray of hope we all need to hear can come through random sources.
It makes you think of others being oppressed around the world and the modern-day Twits doing their dastardly deeds.
Justice is part of the fitrah. A child needs to believe that bad behaviour will be punished and you will be held accountable for your actions.
A child that loses hope, loses his innocence.
As an adult, we sometimes become cynical, and our beliefs become dulled and weary.
Listening to these books again reminded me of why he was such an inspiration for me growing up (for years I wanted to be a children’s author like him).
It even renewed a little bit of lost hope.
The ability to influence, to be able to change the way people feel is such a superpower.
And one I believe we’re all capable of in our own way. It doesn't have to be through writing or telling stories. It can just be a nice compliment. A hug. A goodwill gesture. Even to show empathy.
What can you do to change the way someone feels, today?
(Interestingly, he actually became an author well into his 40’s and had no formal experience as a writer, other than the letters he wrote to his mother every other week from boarding school which honed his creative writing spirit. Maybe that's something my 40's will bring!)