A thematic analysis of Roald Dahl?s adult fiction
In the area of short stories there is little doubt that Roald Dahl has been an influential writer. Dahl´s short stories have been presented to the general public through TVbraodcasts but in order to grasp the true spirit of Dahl´s writing the best method is, of course, reading his books. The fictional works of Roald Dahl can be divided into two major categories: stories for adults and stories for children. This essay is concerned with the second grouping and is an attempt to analyse three themes that are of particular importance to his work. After a brief biographical note on the author, the essay analyses the element of the macabre in Dahl?s writing. Given the author?s diverse treatment of this theme I have found it convenient to divide this aspect of the work into two distinct subcategories: the implicit and the explicit macabre. The following chapter deals with how relationships between men and women are depicted in Dahl?s fiction and pays particular attention to how vengeance and sex frequently manifest themselves in such relationships. The final chapter looks at the theme of lonely children. In this particular aspect of Dahl?s work he emphasises both the idea of protection and innocence, together with an intense portrayal of insanity. Compared to his children?s literature it is fair to say that Dahl?s adult stories represent a category that has not yet been subjected to a great deal of critical analysis. The secondary source which has proved most useful for the initial part of this essay has been Jeremy Treglown?s Roald Dahl, which is primarily a biographical study. Moreover, within the biographical sphere, I have also used Dahls? own Boy. Concidering his biography there are evident traces that manifest themselves in his later fiction. Furthermore, critics have produced a number of shorter reviews concerning Dahl´s literature for adults and the objective to this essay is to present and facilitate a new body of understanding of the literary legacy of Dahl within the genre of short stories.