Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 12

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 12

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Twelve (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER TWELVE – The First Miracle.
94 54 ‘The Trunchbull’ tells the class that she thinks that children should be treated like flies and ‘got rid of as soon as possible’. In fact, Trunchbull has often thought about inventing a spray or sticky paper to ‘get rid of children’. What does Trunchbull tell Miss Honey is her idea of a perfect school? Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that her idea of a perfect school is ‘one that has no children in it’.
95 54-55 When Trunchbull pours a glass of water she is shocked and alarmed to see the newt appear in her glass. Trunchbull instantly blames Matilda and tells her that she will be expelled. Matilda tries to argue that she was not responsible, but a particularly nasty threat causes her to fall silent and sit down. What was the threat that Trunchbull made? The threat made by Trunchbull that made Matilda fall silent and sit down was when the headmistress told her that she would use her belt – buckle side first – to punish her.
96 56 Dahl tells his readers that suddenly ‘there began to creep over Matilda a most extraordinary and peculiar feeling. The feeling was mostly in the eyes. A kind of electricity seemed to be gathering inside them. A sense of power was brewing in those eyes of hers, a feeling of great strength was settling itself deep inside her eyes’. What did Matilda use this power to achieve? Matilda turned this power towards the glass and she willed it to tip all over Trunchbull. With a little time and determination, Matilda was indeed able to achieve this and the water, newt and all, ended up all over Trunchbull’s bosom.
97 57 After being soaked with water, Trunchbull was even angrier than before and once again blamed Matilda for knocking the glass over. Matilda and Miss Honey insisted that this was impossible as neither Matilda, nor any other student, had gone anywhere near the glass of water. Confused and angry, Trunchbull stormed out of the classroom leaving Miss Honey in charge of the children. What does Miss Honey tell the children to do whilst they wait for their parents to arrive at the school to pick them up? Miss honey tells the children that they have had ‘quite enough school for one day’, and that they should all go to the playground and wait for their parents to arrive and pick them up.

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Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 11

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 11

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Eleven (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER ELEVEN – Lavender.
76. 44 Why does Miss Honey tell the class to make sure that they are on their best behaviour every Thursday afternoon at two O’clock? Miss Honey tells the class that it is customary for Trunchbull to take over each class for one lesson a week and that their slot would be two o’clock every Thursday. Miss Honey, knowing what Trunchbull is like, warns the class to be on their best behaviour if they want to avoid being punished.
77. 45 What important job is Lavender assigned each week before the Thursday afternoon lesson taken by Trunchbull? Miss Honey tells the class that Trunchbull insists upon a jug of water and a glass being left on her desk before the start of the lesson. Lavender is assigned the task of making sure that this is done.
78. 45 Lavender is impressed by Hortensia’s stories of bravery and has also been impressed by Matilda who had taken her into confidence about the tricks she had played on her family. Lavender therefore decides that her new responsibility was an opportunity to achieve a similar victory. What does she look for in her garden to assist her in her plans, and what does these creatures look like? Lavender searches her garden for a newt. Newts are about six inches long and very slimy. According to Dahl they look almost like a baby crocodile with a shorter head.
79. 45 Lavender uses her school hat as a net to capture the creature. What does she keep the animal in, and why is she careful not to chop off his tail? Lavender transfers the newt from her school hat to her pencil case which she has prepared by lining it with pond-weed. She is extra careful not to trap the newt’s tail when she closes the lid of her pencil case because her next-door neighbour, Rupert Entwistle, had told her that if you chop off the tail of a newt then it will grow into another identical creature, only ten times the size.
80. 46 Lavender is desperate to tell Matilda about her plan but decides not to. Why is this? Even though Lavender trusts Matilda, she decides that it is better that her plans remain a secret and then, even under torture, nobody would be able to tell Trunchbull who was the guilty party.
81. 47 Lavender, after concealing the creature in Trunchbull’s water jug which she then dutifully places in the classroom ahead of the lesson, rejoins the rest of her form. When Trunchbull enters the classroom, what does she demand every student does and why? Trunchbull demands that each student stands with their hands out in front of them and then, as she walks past, rotate their hands so that she could check that they were clean on both sides.
82. 47 Miss Trunchbull soon becomes angry at a young boy called Nigel Hicks. When questioned by Trunchbull, what does Nigel tell her that his father does for a living? After being accused of having dirty hands, Trunchbull asks Nigel what his father does as a living, asking if he is a sewage worker. Nigel tells Trunchbull that his father is a doctor, and a very good one at that.
83. 48 In addition to having dirty hands, what else convinces Trunchbull that Nigel is a ‘walking germ factory’? In addition to having dirty hands when Trunchbull inspects them, Nigel has a baked bean stuck to the front of his shirt. It had ended up there during lunch, he tells his headmistress.
84. 48 As a punishment for being so dirty, Trunchbull decides to test Nigel’s spelling ability to see if he has managed to learn anything during the previous week. What does Trunchbull tell Nigel to do whilst she tests him? Trunchbull tells Nigel to stand on one leg and face the wall whilst she tests his spelling.
85. 49

Complete the following sentence with one of the words below:

 

‘The softer Trunchbull’s voice became, the greater the ________ ’.

 

a.       Calm                           c. Danger

b.      Her anger                    d. Tranquillity

 

 

 c.       Danger
86. 49 When Nigel is proved right that the class has been taught how to spell ‘difficulty’, what does he tell Trunchbull is Miss Honey’s ‘magic method’? Nigel tells Trunchbull that Miss Honey’s ‘magic method’ is teaching the class a ‘little song about each word’.
87. 50 What does Trunchbull do to a small boy called Rupert when he is unable to tell her what ‘two sevens equal’? When Rupert is unable to answer her question correctly, Trunchbull picked him up by his hair and doesn’t put him down until he answered the question correctly.
88. 51 Trunchbull doesn’t believe one student when he tells her that his name is ‘Eric Ink’. Eventually, after Eric asks her to look his name up in the phonebook, Trunchbull seems to be convinced telling him that ‘you may be Ink, young man, but let me tell you something. You’re not indelible. I’ll very soon rub you out if you try getting clever with me’. What does Trunchbull mean by this? Indelible ink is a type of ink which cannot be removed or erased and the expression ‘to rub someone out’ means to kill them. By telling Eric Ink that he isn’t indelible but can be rubbed out, Trunchbull means that she can kill him!
89. 52 When Eric fails to spell the word ‘what’, Trunchbull picks the poor boy up by his ears. When Miss Honey pleads with the headmistress to put the boy down, Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that boy’s ears never come off. What does she say they do instead? Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that boy’s ears never come off, but they can stretch, just like Eric’s ears were doing.
90. 53 Why does Trunchbull tell Miss Honey that Eric will have ‘an interesting pixie look for the rest of his life’? Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that Eric will have ‘an interesting pixie look for the rest of his life’ because his ears have stretched quite considerably whilst she was suspending him from them.
91 53 Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that she is a great fan of one of the characters in Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. Which character was this and why did Trunchbull like him? Trunchbull was a great fan of Mr Wackford Squeers, the headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, featured in Nicholas Nickleby. The reason for Trunchbull’s admiration was Squeers use of the birch: ‘He kept their backsides so warm you could have fried eggs and bacon on them’ she told the class
92 53 The day after Trunchbull bought a used car from Mr Wormwood, she thought that he was a very good man. What had now happened to change her mind? Immediately after buying the used car, Trunchbull thought that Mr Wormwood was a very fair salesman as he had told her that the car was almost new and had very low mileage. Trunchbull had changed her mind after ‘the entire engine fell out on the road’ and she was amazed to discover that the entire thing was full of sawdust.
93 54 Trunchbull tells Matilda that she doesn’t like clever people. Why is this? Trunchbull tells Matilda that she doesn’t like clever people because ‘They are all crooks’.

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Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 10

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 10

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Ten (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER TEN – Bruce Boggtrotter And The Cake.

71.

39

It may seem hard to a reader to understand why Trunchbull was allowed to get away with such cruelty. What, according to Matilda, is ‘Trunchbull’s great secret which explains this?’

Matilda tells Lavender that Trunchbull’s great secret is ‘never do things by halves’. The more outrageous a punishment, the less likely a parent is to believe it when their child comes home and tells them about it. They are more likely to think that their child is making it up.

72.

39-40

It wasn’t long before the school got yet another demonstration of Trunchbull’s wrath when she summoned Bruce Bogtrotter to the stage during a meeting in the Assembly Room. What had Boggtrotter done wrong?

Boggtrotter had stolen a piece of Trunchbull’s ‘private chocolate cake’ the previous day and had been spotted eating it by the cook.

73.

41-44

How does Trunchbull punish Boggtrotter in front of the whole school?

Trunchbull had arranged for the cook to prepare another giant cake and asked Boggtrotter to sit down and eat the entire thing in front of the assembled school, thinking that it would be impossible. Failure to finish the entire cake would result in him being put in ‘The Chokey’.

74.

44

Is Turnbull’s punishment of Boggtrotter a success? Explain your answer.

No it wasn’t. It quickly becomes a competition between Turnbull and Boggtrotter with the latter desperately trying to eat the entire cake without being sick or begging for mercy. The rest of the school soon started to support Boggtrotter. After eating what seemed like an impossible amount of cake he eventually finishes every last bite and was applauded by the rest of the school.

75.

44

How does Trunchbull react when Boggtrotter finally manages to eat every last bite of the cake?

Trunchbull became exceedingly angry when Boggtrotter managed to finish the cake and hit him over the head with the large ceramic plate on which the cake had been served.

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Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 09

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 09

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Nine (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER NINE – Throwing the Hammer.
62. 34 Matilda found it easy to make friends at school, and never tried to impress anyone or show off about her intelligence. One of her closest friends at school was a young girl called Lavender. Both girls liked each other for the same reason. What was this? Each girl thought the other to be ‘gutsy and adventurous’ and they liked each other very much as a result.
63. 34 The new students in the bottom class were soon told many stories about Miss Trunchbull or ‘The Trunchbull’ as she was known. One older student tells Lavender and Matilda that Trunchbull hates the bottom class most of all. What reason does the student give for this? The older student tells Lavender and Matilda that Trunchbull hates the bottom class most of all because she hates very small children.
64. 34-35 Lavender and Matilda are told many horrible stories about The Trunchbull. Some of these involve ‘The Chokey’. What was ‘The Chokey’

‘The Chokey’ was used by Trunchbull to punish students.  It was a very tall but very narrow cupboard. The inside of the door and the three inside walls were covered in broken glass. Students would be locked inside ‘The Chokey’ for hours at a time and had to spend all of this time standing to attention or cut themselves on the glass.

 
65. 35 An older girl called Hortensia tells Lavender and Matilda that she had been made to stand in the Chokey six times during her first term. What had she done to deserve this punishment the first time? Hortensia tells Lavender and Matilda that she had been made to stand in ‘The Chokey’ for the first time because she had poured a tin of golden syrup on a chair just before Trunchbull sat down on it at prayers.
66. 35-36 On another occasion, Hortensia had been sentenced to ‘The Chokey’ when she managed to sneak into Trunchbull’s office. Finding the drawer which contained her gym knickers, what did Hortensia sprinkle into each pair? Hortensia had ordered some packets of high power itching powder and sprinkled the contents of these packets into each pair of Trunchbull’s knickers.
67. 36 As punishment for putting itching powder in Trunchbull’s knickers, Hortensia was sentenced to a full day in ‘The Chokey’. How did Trunchbull know that Hortensia was guilty? Trunchbull didn’t know who was guilty for the itching powder but, as Hortensia tells Lavender, Trunchbull has a knack of guessing who is to blame and, on this occasion, guessed correctly.
68. 37 Hortensia tells Lavender and Matilda about Julius Rottwinkle who was thrown out of an open window by Trunchbull and ended up with a number of broken bones as a result. What had Rottwinkle done to deserve this? Rottwinkle was thrown out of the window by Trunchbull because she caught him eating Liquorice Allsorts during Scripture class.
69. 37 We have already been told that, in her younger years, Trunchbull was an athlete. What sport had she competed in for Britain at the Olympics? Trunchbull had thrown the hammer for Britain at the Olympics.
70. 37-38 Whilst Hortensia, Lavender and Matilda are talking – the playground suddenly fell silent as Trunchbull walked out looking for Amanda Tripp. What had Tripp done wrong and how was she punished? Over the course of the holidays, Amanda Tripp had let her hair grow even longer than before and her mother had plaited it into pigtails. According to Hortensia, if there is one thing Trunchbull hates it is Pigtails. Trunchbull tells Tripp that she is to have her pigtails cut off that evening before grabbing the terrified girl by her hair and swinging her around and around like an Olympic hammer and launched her over the school fence.

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Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 08

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 08

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Eight (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER EIGHT – The Parents.
56. 30 Miss Honey decides that it is useless for Matilda to participate in class activities as she is too advanced for what they will be learning. What does she decide to do about Matilda? Miss Honey borrows a number of advanced textbooks from other teachers and tells Matilda to work though them during class. Then, at the end of each lesson, Matilda can ask Miss Honey any questions that she has about what she has been working on.
57. 30 Whilst watching Matilda diligently work on geometry, whilst the rest of the class learnt their two-times-table, Miss Honey decides that she is going to visit the young girl’s parents to discuss their child’s education. Why does Mr Wormwood tell Miss Honey that her visit was ‘most inconvenient’? Mr Wormwood is not at all happy to see Miss Honey, and at first assumes that Matilda must have gotten into trouble at school. When assured that this wasn’t the case, Mr Wormwood tells Miss Honey that her visit was most inconvenient as they were trying to watch one of their favourite television programmes.
58. 31 Miss Honey is eventually invited into the house and meets Mrs Wormwood who is also angry to have her television programme interrupted. When asked if they were ‘great readers’, Mr Wormwood announces that he was. What does he claim to read cover to cover every week? Mr Wormwood claims to read Autocar and motor, two magazines about cars, cover to cover every week.
59. 33 ‘Looks is more important than books’, Matilda’s mother tells Miss Honey. What, according to her, should a girl spend time thinking about and why? According to Mrs Wormwood, ’a girl should think about making herself look attractive so she can get a good husband later on.’
60. 33 Miss Honey tells the Wormwoods that, in addition to her reading prowess, Matilda can do mathematics in her head. Is Matilda’s father impressed by this? Mr Wormwood is not at all impressed by this news scoffing; ‘What’s the point of that when you can buy a calculator?’
61. 33 Despite Matilda’s parent’s lack of regard for their daughters abilities, Miss Honey continues to impress Matilda’s academic potential upon them claiming that, with the right teacher, she could be brought up to university standard in just a few short years. Mr Wormwood is appalled at this idea. What is the only thing that people learn at university, according to him? According to Mr Wormwood, the only thing that people learn at university is ‘bad habits’.

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Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 07

Matilda By Roald Dahl Chapter 07

Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Seven (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER SEVEN – The Trunchbull
49. 27 After the class with Matilda, Miss Honey went straight to see Miss Trunchbull. Why was this? Miss Honey wanted to discuss Matilda with Miss Trunchbull. She especially felt that it would be ridiculous to leave such a brilliant student in the bottom class.
50. 27 Dahl describes Miss Trunchbull as a terrifying person. What had she been famous for in her younger days? Miss Trunchbull had been a famous athlete and still possessed the muscles to prove it.
51. 28 Miss Trunchbull knows who Matilda is because she had met her father the previous day. How had this occurred? Miss Trunchbull had gone to Wormwood Motors to buy a car the previous day, and had met Matilda’s father when he sold her a car.
52. 28 Mr Wormwood had warned Miss Trunchbull about his daughter. What had he told her if ‘anything bad ever happened in the school’? Mr Wormwood had told Miss Trunchbull that it was bound to be Matilda’s fault if ‘anything bad ever happened in the school’.
53. 28 During this discussion, what does Miss Trunchbull decide Matilda was guilty of? Miss Trunchbull decides that Matilda was responsible for putting a stink bomb under her desk that morning.
54. 29 Miss Trunchbull is certain that Matilda must be a trouble maker based on what the girl’s father had told her the day before. Nevertheless, Miss Honey carries on praising the little girl and suggests that she is transferred to the top class with the eleven year olds. Why does Miss Trunchbull think Miss Honey wants Matilda transferred to this class? Based on her unshakable belief that Matilda was a ‘gangster’, Miss Trunchbull thinks that Miss Honey must be unable to cope with the young girl and now wants to unload her onto another teacher.
55. 30 Adamant that Matilda was responsible for putting a stink bomb under her desk, Miss Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that she wished that she was ‘still allowed to use the birch and belt as I did in the good old days!’ What does Miss Trunchbull mean by this? The ‘birch and the belt’ refer to corporal punishment. Miss Trunchbull wishes that she could still use the birch, otherwise known as the cane, or a belt to punish Matilda and other unruly students.

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