This document provides an outline for a research paper on Roald Dahl's dark writing style for children. It discusses how Dahl's difficult past influenced his work. While children responded positively to his believable characters, many adults disapproved of the disturbing themes. Dahl enjoyed challenging children and society's norms. Examples of his famous books that showed a darker perspective of life are provided.

1. ENG 1102
RESEARCH PAPER
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

2. Table of Contents
 Introduction
 Roald Dahl’s past plays a role in his dark writing style
 How children responded to his work
 How adults responded to his work
 Why he chose to write in the style he did
 Examples of Roald Dahl’s work
 Conclusion
 Works Cited

3. Introduction
 Roald Dahl:
 Famous Author who wrote several children’s
books. He famously allowed children to see
the darker side of life in his work’s.

4. Roald Dahl’s past plays a role
in his writing style
 Major Life Experiences Include:
 The death of his father when Dahl was only 4
years old
 He was a Fighter Pilot for the Royal Air Force
and he saw a lot of action in the war.
 He was basically raised in a boarding school
where he was treated poorly (even beaten).
 All of the above experiences led Dahl to write the
way he did.

5. How Children Responded to
Dahl’s Writing Style
 Children found Dahl’s works “particularly
easy to read, because when characters
converse they come across as being
real and believable…..He does not
encumber his writing with unnecessarily
difficult words.” (Lopes)

6. How Adults Reacted to Dahl’s
Writing Style
 Many adults complained that Dahl’s work
displayed “racism”, “disturbing characters”, and
“low regard for corruption and hypocrisy amongst
adults and other authority figures”
(Who2Biography)
 Fewer adults loved his writing style, Danny De Vito
said, “He speaks to children. He doesn’t speak
down to them. He asks them to think, he asks
them to be afraid, and he asks them to conquer his
fears.” (qtd. in Author Profile)

7. Why Dahl enjoyed his writing
style
 Roald Dahl loved his writing style.
 An article in the New York Times quoted
Dahl, “The key to his success was to
conspire children against adults.” (Honan)
 Roald Dahl’s quirky personality allowed him
to thoroughly enjoy making children see a
different side to life, a darker side.

8. Examples of Roald Dahl’s
works
 To name a few….
 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
 James and the Giant Peach
 The Gremlins
 Matilda
 The Witches
 And many, many more….

9. Conclusion
 Roald Dahl was an exquisite author who
allowed children to see something
society had never let them see before,
true life. Many viewed this as a darker
side during his the 1960’s when Dahl’s
books were first coming out.

10. Works Cited
 Honan, William. “Roald Dahl, Writer, 74, Is Dead; Best Sellers Enchanted Children.”
1990. The New York Times. 15 Jul. 2009.
<http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/24/obituaries/roald-dahl-writer-74-is-dead-
best-sellers-
enchanted-children.html>.
 Lopes, Tony. “Assessment of the aesthetic value of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Great Automatic
Grammatizator and Other Stories’.” Editred. 15 Jul. 2009.
<http://www.editred.com/Uploads/st_36232_Assessment_of_the_aesthet>.
 “Roald Dahl.” Who2 Biography. Answers.com. 15 Jul. 2009
<http://answers.com/topic/roald-dahl>.