[HPFGU-OTChatter] Boy by Dahl

[Shaun Hately]

On 2 Oct 2002 at 11:46, Rachel Bray wrote:

> Well, I read Boy last night.  I was not expecting it to be 
> about himself.  It was wonderful. I loved it.  Especially 
> how you could see where he got some of his ideas for 
> Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I was a bit taken aback 
> by the beatings, though.  Geesh.  I mean, my school had 
> paddling (and unfortunately, I was the recipient of one in 
> the 7th grade but that's a whole other story and it puts me 
> in a really bad light and I'd rather keep up appearances 
> that I'm a sweet, quiet and caring individual so....I'll 
> just leave it at that) but nothing even remotely close to 
> what he went through.  

Just an observation - people who went to school with Dahl, say that his descriptions 
of the beatings he received at Repton are exagerated (although the rat incident at 
his prep school does appear true), and the description of the bare bottom caning of 
a friend is a total fabrication (although it is possible Dahl, as he is reporting it 
second hand, believed it to be true). Fiction writers sometimes have a hard time not 
embellishing things a bit.

Caning is certainly unpleasant (believe me, I know) and it certainly *can* be brutal - 
but Boy doesn't really give a true impression according to others who were there.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia