Matilda is a fictional character in the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. She is a five-year old girl that has a passion for reading books. Matilda has parents that do not care about her at all, particularly her father, who is a second-hand car dealer and has performed numerous abusive actions on Matilda. In the movie, as a five year old she is portrayed by Mara Wilson and as a toddler she is portrayed by Amanda and Catilin Fein.
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Matilda's characteristics
Matilda has black hair in the book (though in the movie it is brown). She has brown eyes in both the book and the movie.
Likes and dislikes
Matilda likes:
- Reading
- Miss Honey
- Lavender
- Books
Matilda dislikes:
- Miss Trunchbull
- Mr. Wormwood
- Mrs. Wormwood
About Matilda
Matilda is a five-year old girl that lives in London near the local library. She has parents that are constantly rude to her. However, her father has the role of constantly performing abusive actions. Her parents insist she watches television.[1] Matilda's school is Crunchem Hall Primary School which is run by a middle-aged woman named Miss Trunchbull. The school is described as having "about 250 pupils". Matilda makes friends with many other students, particularly a girl called Lavender. While at school, Miss Trunchbull performs actions of child abuse. Matilda lives with Miss Honey, a teacher at the school, after Miss Trunchbull's demise a little later.
Books
Matilda has read a variety of books, especially at the age of four, when she read a high amount of books in six months. Here are the books that she read in the space of six months.
- Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
- Gone to Earth by Mary Webb
- Kim by Rudyard Kipling
- The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Good Companions by J. B. Priestly
- Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
Early skills
- One and a half - Adult speech[1]
- Three - Amateur reading skills
- Four - Able to read like a grown up[1]
Powers
Matilda has psychokinetic powers.[2] Her powers are first discovered when the glass of which Miss Trunchbull drinks from tips over and a newt (which Lavender caught in her garden) jumps onto Miss Trunchbull's "ugly" green breeches. The Trunchbull accuses Matilda of running out and tipping the glass over when she wasn't looking. When Matilda says that she didn't do it, a verbal argument which lasts for about a minute sprawls out between Matilda and Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull ends the argument by telling Matilda to shut up and sit down. At home, Matilda practices using her powers with a cigar. The last time that Matilda uses her powers is when she writes on the chalkboard ending Miss Trunchbull's reign over the school (although in the movie she still has them after Miss Trunchbull's demise).
See also
References
- ^ a b c Tomalin, Mary (1999). Matilda by Roald Dahl (pdf). Penguin Readers Factsheets. Pearson Education. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Matilda, By Roald Dahl (pdf). Novel units. alphasmart.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
