The
stories in ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ are bizarre. Not surprising, because most short
stories are. Roald Dahl’s short stories end with an abrupt twist of the plot,
leaving the reader bewildered and dazzled, wondering whether the story was
meant for anything at all. For example, in ‘Dip in the Pool’, a man named Mr.
Botibol attempts to win a bet by jumping off a ship, expecting to be saved by
the woman standing next to him when he jumps down. But after some hesitation,
she turns back and walks away, leaving poor Mr. Botibol floundering in the sea.
At this point, when the reader expects some kind of miracle, the story ends. But
definitely, the stories aren’t just meant for amusement; they are too short to
develop plots intricate enough to weave thrill and suspense. Instead, every
story has its own, subtle message that combine into a single theme – human’s
weakness to his impulse.
The
characters in ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ seem more evil, cold, and egocentric
than normal humans. But the darkness of their nature is not exaggerated; the
characters are not exceptional. Most of us, if put in extreme situations, are
triggered to unethical and insane thoughts. Thus, rather than underlining how
evil humans are, Roald Dahl shows that humans are weak to such sudden impulse.
One
of the most famous short stories, ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ is a murder story.
Mary, after learning from her husband that he will leave her, bangs his head
with a lamb’s leg from behind. He immediately dies. Whether she meant to kill
him is unknown. But her murder isn’t as surprising as how she murders and her
reactions afterwards. How she conveys this blow is shocking, as she does it
without any hesitation. Even after checking his death, all she says is ‘All
right, so I’ve killed him’. This contrasts to herself just a few minutes from
then, when she loved her husband so dearly. She shows no
sign of remorse or panic, as she coldly and intelligently creates a false scene
to escape blame, at which she succeeds. Mary illustrates how humans can turn
cold so suddenly; how we are so easily dominated by our sudden impulse and
whim; how your lover can be your murderer the next minute. Joker illustrates
this concept in the movie ‘Dark Knight’, when he says that the mere difference
between a hero and a villain is a sheet of paper. ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’
should not be interpreted as an isolated case of a crazy woman. Most of us
totally depend on the people around us, and no one knows what evil we will turn
into when something happens to our beloved ones.
Mr.
Botibol in the short story mentioned above, ‘Dip in the Pool’, also
demonstrates human weakness. His logic and reasoning are completely obscured by
his desire the win the bet. Greed dominates his mind and renders him myopic.
Risking his life to win a bet may seem simply crazy and amusing at first
glance. But one only needs to think for a while to see that so many people,
like Mr. Botibol, risk everything for money. The most respected members of our
society are often found in TV, covering their face shamefully under conviction
of bribery.
Roald
Dahl, in his brilliant short plots, create entertaining characters that seem
unrealistic at first glance but who represent the essence of human nature. By
exposing this nature without moderation, he teaches a stark lesson that we may
be crazier and weaker than who we think we are.
Last sentence sums it up well. You write well and have solid content, but before you head off to American college you should brush up on some basics of formatting:
답글삭제https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/1/
I think Lamb to the Slaughter does MANY things well, and is essentially satirizing the domestic ideals of being a "good housewife" after WWII. Do women really luxuriate in the presence of men? Maybe not.
Good stuff.
Nice writing!
답글삭제I like the idea that humans are weak to their own impulses.
It would have been much better if you change ' to "
I hope we don't allow our urges to control us!!!
As I said before, brilliant idea and sentences ^^