Genre
Autobiography
Setting and Context
Set primarily in Africa during World War II.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narration from the point of view of Roald Dahl
Tone and Mood
Humorous, Conversational, Frightening
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Roald Dahl; Antagonist: World War II
Major Conflict
Moving to Africa to work for Shell Oil Dahl has several adventures and misadventures involving culture shock, memorable incidents, and new experiences. Afterward, he signs up in the Royal Air Force to fight in the Second World War and has near-death experiences in Europe and the Sahara.
Climax
The climax perhaps occurs when Dahl crashes in the Sahara while flying over the Mediterranean in 1940.
Foreshadowing
“If they worked in East Africa, their sentences were sprinkled with Swahili words, and if they lived in India then all manner of dialects were intermingled.”
Dahl describing the peculiarity of fellow Englishmen in the colonies foreshadows the culture shock that he is about to experience in Africa and other British colonies.
Understatement
During a conversation with a Jewish man in Palestine, Dahl understates their trauma and plight unaware of the ongoing genocide of Jewish people by German forces in Europe.
Allusions
The novel alludes to the British colonization of Africa as Dahl travels to the colonies in East Africa. During his stint as a squadron pilot, Dahl refers to the German invasions in Europe and the subsequent genocide of Jewish people.
Imagery
“A great sense of peace and serenity seemed to surround these massive, slow-moving, gentle beasts. Their skin hung loose over their bodies like suits they had inherited from larger ancestors, with the trousers ridiculously baggy.”
The imagery of elephants in Africa.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“Myrna Loy was a Hollywood cinema actress I had seen many times on the silver screen.”
Silver screen is a metonymy
Personification
Dahl personifies the planes he flew as a squadron pilot.
