Matilda

Matilda gets upset that her father, a used car salesman, believes it is acceptable to cheat his clients as a means to get rich. To try to teach him a lesson, she puts superglue on his hat. When he...

Eric Ink misspells the word "what" as w-h-o-t while Miss Trunchbull, the sadistic head of school, is visiting Miss Honey's class. Miss Trunchbull responds, first, by shouting at him and insulting...

There are two teachers in Roald Dahl's Matilda who play significant roles in the story. The first of these is Miss Honey, who is Matilda's class teacher. Miss Honey lives alone—in poverty, in...

Miss Trunchbull is the terrifying and ferocious headmistress of the school that Matilda attends. She is also the antagonist of the story. She is described in the story as "formidable," and as a...

Dahl makes it clear as the novel opens that he believes that most parents have distorted and unrealistic ideas about their children. But between the two extremes of distortion that he perceives,...

The best parts are when Matilda exacts her revenge on some of the less savory characters in the novel. These are the parts that Roald Dahl really goes to town with his imagination. Matilda puts...

One day, Mr. Wormwood comes home from work at the used car lot in a bad mood. Matilda is sitting reading John Steinbeck's The Red Pony, which she borrowed from the library. Her father notices her...

Despite her intelligence and capabilities, Matilda is not looked upon fondly by her own parents. Early in the book, it becomes clear that Matilda's parents feel she is a "chatterbox." They do not...

Probably because Nigel is such a smart, confident little boy, and because Miss Trunchbull feels threatened by people who are clever, she really doesn't like him. She's also obsessed with...

While this question is open to individual interpretation, one can certainly make the argument that Matilda's parents neglect her and do not treat her with love and care. Unlike most parents, who...

In a word: appalling. Miss Trunchbull positively hates children. In fact, she hates them so much that she even denies she used to be one. She's a harsh, psychotic tyrant who strikes mortal fear...

In chapter 10, "Throwing the Hammer," Matilda's older schoolmate Hortensia tells Matilda that she bought an itching powder called the skin scorcher—"made from the powdered teeth of deadly...

The young Matilda gets so angry at her bullying father for ripping up her copy of The Red Pony that she plots revenge. She visits her friend Fred and trades him a week's allowance for the chance to...

In Roald Dahl's novel Matilda, the character of Mrs. Phelps is beautifully developed. She starts off as simple librarian in High Street who is dumbfounded at little Matilda's presence in the...

Matilda has the very special power of telekinesis, which is the ability to move and manipulate objects using only the mind. It takes some time for Matilda to develop this power, but once she does,...

Though Matilda has been assigned to the lowest class at Cruncham Hall Primary School, it soon becomes clear that she doesn't really belong there: she's way ahead of the other children when it comes...

Miss Trunchbull is a thoroughly hateful individual, a nasty piece of work who terrorizes the children in her school. Matilda's one of them, of course, but so too is the unfortunate Julius...

Readers learn that Mrs. Wormwood is so exhausted from her bingo afternoons that she is not able to make home-cooked dinners. Therefore, the family always eats either frozen dinners or fish and...

If I were Matilda, I would feel sad and upset to have parents like hers. She is a bright and sensitive child, and yet, for that reason (along with the mere fact that she is alive), she is an...

Mrs. Wormwood is a selfish, superficial woman, the kind not cut out to be a mother. Everything in her life is all about her. She's the center of her own universe and has no time for anyone else....

Matilda is a novel written by Roald Dahl first published in 1988. It follows the story of a young girl, Matilda, who grows up in a very cold and sterile family environment. In order to help you...

There are certainly a number of gender norms that are discussed and challenged in Ronald Dahl's brilliant novel, Matilda. Matilda is an exceptionally smart girl with telekinetic powers who is faced...

I would be terrified if Roald Dahl's Miss Agatha Trunchbull wandered into one of my classrooms. Of course, I can't imagine this despot-like headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School actually...

Miss Trunchbull is not normal. She is dangerously sadistic. She gets away with her behavior because it is so extreme that parents think their children are lying if they try to tell them about what...

Feelings will vary from reader to reader, but here's what we're mostly likely to feel after reading Chapter 1. In general, we're feeling very involved and anxious to keep reading. The narrator's...

To understand Matilda as a feminist book, look closely at the character of Matilda and her actions in the story. She is strong, strong-willed, and independent-thinking, despite the fact that she is...

Matilda goes to Fred’s house because she is on a mission to punish her parents for their unkindness towards her. While her first prank—gluing her father’s hat to his head—has been a success, she is...

In Roald Dahl's Matilda, the cruel way that the aunt treats Ms. Honey denotes pent-up anger and frustration likely stemming from jealousy and envy. She is probably jealous to see Ms. Honey...

By anyone's standards, Matilda is a very special child. By the age of eighteen months, she is able to speak perfectly and has a much wider vocabulary than most adults. Not that this impresses her...

Matilda by Roald Dahl is the story of a gifted, extraordinarily talented girl born to boring, unimaginative parents. From the time she is born, Matilda is different than other children. She is a...

The first question is a personal one, meaning that you should think about how you would respond to the threat of Miss. Trunchbull. When faced with belligerent and tyrannical authority figures, do...

To answer this question, we first need to discuss what made Matilda's life intolerable: her parents. Despite showing signs of brilliance from her infancy, Matilda is ignored and maligned by her...

Although it may sound like the author is speaking to us directly as Chapter 1 begins, we don't want to assume that the author and the narrator are the same person. So, let's consider instead how...

Matilda gets revenge on her revolting father by squeezing some superglue around the inside rim of his hat. As Matilda knows full well, her father really loves this hat, a pork-pie with a jay's...

Mr. Wormwood is just one of many adult authority figures in the works of Roald Dahl presented in a less than flattering light. Personality-wise, he’s a real piece of work: loud, greedy, vulgar,...

You did not specify a grade level, but as a teacher mentor, I can help you. The first place you may want to look at is at your State Education Website. Most of the states now have a teacher portal...