Genre
Juvenile fiction
Setting and Context
England, 1981
Narrator and Point of View
Told through a 3rd person narrative
Tone and Mood
Light hearted, comical
Protagonist and Antagonist
George is the main protagonist, Grandmother is the antagonist
Major Conflict
George grows his Grandmother into a giant by replacing her medicine with one he invented from household items
Climax
George tries to recreate the potion but ends up making the opposite by shrinking grandmother until she vanishes
Foreshadowing
Grandmother’s fate is foreshadowed when George gets revenge on her by trying to teach her a lesson for bullying him
Understatement
George’s abilities to contribute to world issues are understated because he is only a child.
Allusions
Dahl stated that the book was written in honour of “doctors everywhere” and that he too once had “dreams of glory” as a child of being a doctor. Hence, it seems Dahl is reflecting his own childhood through George.
Imagery
Grandmother is shown to be a nuisance and bully. George is shown to be a creative and imaginative child.
Paradox
George and his father are shown in paradoxical ways. Whereas George enjoys the process of making :magic”, his father wishes to make a profit from it.
Parallelism
There are parallels to Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, “Drink Me” chapter, grandmother is deceived into drinking George’s potion.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The potion is a personification of medical treatment and drugs that are invented to treat people.
