Bangladesh International School, English Section, Jeddah.

1st TERM (2022 – 2023)

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 Character List
Roald Dahl ("Boy")

Roald Dahl, nicknamed "Boy," is the author and protagonist of the novel. The child of
Norwegian immigrants living in Wales and England, Dahl is viewed by the authorities as a
troublemaker at the schools he attends. Although his father considers English schools to be
the best in the world, Dahl lives in constant fear of being disciplined with vicious canings
from school officials. Instead of continuing with education by going to university, Dahl
takes a job at Shell Oil. Later in life, Dahl will become one of the world's most widely read
children's authors.

Harald Dahl

The author's father, Harald, is a Norwegian shipbroker who makes a comfortable living for
his family after starting a shipbroker company in Wales. In the wake of his daughter's
death, Harald falls ill and dies of pneumonia several weeks later.

Sofie Dahl

Dahl's mother, Sofie, is a Norwegian woman who moves to Wales after meeting her
husband, Harald. When her daughter and husband die with weeks of each other, Sofie
decides to stay in the UK because she hopes to fulfill her husband's wish that his children
attend English schools, which he believed to be the best in the world.
Mrs. Pratchett
Mrs. Pratchett is the despicable and grubby owner of the candy shop near Dahl's
elementary school.
Mr. Coombes
Mr. Coombes is the Headmaster of the elementary school Dahl attends as a young boy.
Matron
The Matron is a nurse responsible for overseeing the boys' health and well-being while
they live at boarding school.

Captain Hardcastle
Captain Hardcastle is one of the teachers Dahl most fears while at boarding school.
The Headmaster of Repton Prep School
The Headmaster at Repton is a short clergyman known for the vicious beatings he doles
out to boys at the school.
Thwaites
Thwaites is a childhood friend of Roald Dahl.
Dahl's Elder Sister
She is the biological child of Harald and Marie.
Dahl's Sister's Fiancé
Dahl's sister's fiancé was a young English doctor.

Chapter Summaries of Boy, Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

Chapter 1 – “Papa and Mama”

 Father – Harald Dahl, Norwegian – no left arm

 Father’s brother – Oscar
 The brothers ran away to France
 Uncle Oscar became successful – fishing trawlers and a canning factory
 Harald Dahl – with partner Aadnesen – became shipping brokers (suppliers to
big ships) – as coal was the most important thing they supplied they set up
business in a coaling port – Cardiff, South Wales, U.K.
 Harald married Marie – 2 children and then Marie died
 Harald went back to Norway to find a new wife – married Sofie
Magdalene Hesselberg – 4 children – girl, girl, boy (Roald), girl
 Harald was a clever businessman, he was a good gardener and wood
carver. He wrote detailed dairies of events in English (although
Norwegian was his first language).

Chapter 2 – “Kindergarten 1922-23, age 6-7”

 When Roald was 3 his sister died from appendicitis; she was 7. This was the
age that Roald’s daughter Olivia died many years later.
 Roald’s father was very upset about the death of his daughter, and he died of
pneumonia shortly after.
 Roald’s mother had no family in Wales to help her; all her family lived in
Norway. She was alone with 5 children and another one on the way.
However, she refused to return to Norway. Harald Dahl had always wanted
his children to be educated in English schools, which he believed to be
superior. After all, it had enabled a small island of people to become a great
empire and produce some of the world’s greatest literature.
 The family moved to a smaller house called Cumberland Lodge.
 Roald went to his first school, a kindergarten called Elmtree House, run by
2 sisters Mrs Corfield and Miss Tucker.
 LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL SCHOOL 1923-5 (age 7-9)

Chapter 3 – “The Bicycle and the Sweet Shop”

 Roald remembers 2 things clearly:

 First, he was really impressed by a 12 year old boy who rode by, pedaling
backwards, with his arms folded across his chest – Roald was in awe.
 Second, was his memory of a sweet shop that he passed on the way to and
from school. His favourite sweets were Sherbet Suckers and Liquorice
Bootlaces.
 Roald’s friend Thwaites told him that his father (a doctor) had told him
never to eat Liquorice Bootlaces as they were made from rat’s blood and
made you look like a rat!
 The sweets are described: Liquorice Bootlaces, Sherbert Suckers,
Gobstoppers, Pear Drops, Tonsil Ticklers.
 The owner of the sweet shop is Mrs. Pratchett – she was not nice.
 Exercise 1

Q. Match the words from ‘Set A’ to its meaning in ‘Set B’.

A B ans:
1. Ambitious A fishing boat that uses a net to catch fish.
2. Tremendous Having a strong desire for success or achievement.
3. Excruciating To have (something, such as a thought or feeling) in your mind
for a long time.
4. Trawler Having too much difficulty, not being able to cope.
5. Harbour Very large or great.
6. Overwhelmed Something that causes great unhappiness.
7. Grief Extremely painful.

Exercise 2
Q. Answer to the following questions.
1. In “Papa and Mama” what did Harald and Oscar have in common? Describe in detail. (3M)

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2. In “Kindergarten” what factors contributed to Harald’s death? (2)

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3. Why was it difficult for Sophie to move from Wales? (2M)

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4. What is one memory that is very clearly ingrained in Roald’s mind about his Kindergarten
days? (3M)

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Exercise 3

Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given
boxes:

(1) He met Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg in 1911. 

(2) They, along with their family members, moved to Radyr in 1918. 
(3) Harold Dahl became a successful shipbroker and set up a farm at Cardiff.  
(4) They married soon after. 
(5) Harold Dahl lost his arm when he was fourteen. 
(6) The writer’s grandfather was a prosperous merchant. 
 Exercise 4

Complete the following sentences with information from the text:

(a) The narrator’s grandfather was ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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(b) Harold Dahl had lost ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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(c) A shipbroker is a person who ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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(d) In the country mansion beside the village of Rady, there were ---------------------------------

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Exercise 5

Do you think that the narrator was happy living in the imposing mansion?

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