“Mrs Pratchett” by Roald Dahl
The sweet-shop in Llandaff in the year 1923 was the very center of our lives. To us, it was what a bar is to a drunk, or a church is to a Bishop. Without it, there would have been little to live for. But it had one terrible drawback, this sweet-shop. The woman who owned it was a horror. We hated her and we had a good reason for doing so.
Her name was Mrs. Pratchett. She was a small skinny old hag with a mustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a gooseberry. She never smiled. She never welcomed us when we went in, and the only times she spoke were when she said things like, “I’m watchin’ you so keep yer thievin’ fingers of them chocolates!” Or “I don’t want you in ‘ere just to look around! Either you fork out or you get out!”
But by far the most loathsome thing about Mrs. Pratchett was the filth that clung around her. Her apron was grey and greasy. Her blouse had bits of breakfast all over it, toast-crumbs and tea stains and splotches of dried egg-yolk. It was her hands, however, that disturbed us most. They were disgusting. They were black with dirt and grime. They looked as though they had been putting lumps of coal on the fire all day long.
As we read through, have a think about how Roald Dahl paints a picture for the reader. consider what we learn about her, what techniques he uses and what effect these techniques have, what is the effect of the use of dialogue?
The pictures that Roald dahl are unpleasant and disgusting. The words he uses to describe Mrs. Pratchett make it very easy for us to picture her as the word he uses is very. The technique Roald Dahl mainly uses is adjectives as he is describing how she looks.
An example of one of the adjectives in the story is “She was a skinny old with a mustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a gooseberry” He is describing what she looks like therefore it is an adjective. That sentence also has a simile because of “as sour as a gooseberry. Using this technique it paints a better picture in the reader’s head. In this story, I think we learn that Mrs Pratchett is nasty and rude. We learn this from some of the lines that she is portrayed rudely such as “I’m watchin’ you so keep your thieving fingers off them chocolates!” This sentence shows that she was being rude to the kids in her shop. It sounds as she doesn’t want the kids in her shop just looking because she thinks they will mess things up and break things. She would rather them just get what she wants and leave. Overall Roald dahl has painted a very clear picture for readers.
Recent Comments