54 pages 1 hour read

Roald Dahl

The Twits

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1980

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Essay Topics

1.

Do you think the animals’ revenge on the Twits is justified? Why or why not? If so, what elements of the Twits’ behavior convinced you? If not, could Dahl have written them differently to make the revenge feel more genuine? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

2.

Many of the perspectives offered by the story’s narrator are ones shared by Dahl. With this in mind, explore where Dahl ends and the narrator begins. Can authors completely separate themselves from their stories, or do all stories contain at least some part of their creator? Does knowing that the narrator shares Dahl’s perspective change how you understand the book? Why or why not?

3.

The narrator makes the distinction that Mr. Twit has always been terrible but Mrs. Twit has not. What context does this offer to the characters? Does it make any important distinctions between them? Why or why not? Why do you think Dahl chose to include this information? Would the story have been different if both the Twits had once been beautiful or both always been terrible? Why or why not?