"Boy" - Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sunday morning

On Sunday mornings Dahl and his classmates would be paraded into a hall to write a letter to their parents. However, the masters censored what was written in the letters so that the boys did not speak ill of the school or say that they were being mistreated. Dahl thoroughly enjoyed this practice and continued to write weekly to his mother up until her death (Dahl was in his 20s).

His mother filed these letters and when Dahl returned home he was able to see everything he wrote over a period of more than 10 years.

Answer: Victor Corrado

Dahl struggled with Latin and it is therefore rarely mentioned in the book. However, we do see that he received some unsatisfactory comments about his standard of work.

Answer: Appendicitis

During his first term at boarding school Dahl had bad homesickness because he had never spent the night away from his mother before. Before he left he had witnessed his sister with appendicitis and was able to fool the school matron with his re-enactment of her pain. Unfortunately for Dahl, his family doctor soon realised that there was nothing wrong with him and sent him back to school.

Answer: 35 mph

Dahl's ancient half-sister had recently acquired a motor car. In those days there weren't any requirement for training and tests to get your license and she was therefore quite inexperienced. The children had watched excitedly as the speed dial crept over 30mph and continued rising.

However the ancient half-sister panicked as they reached a tight bend and lost control of the car. Most of the family escaped unscathed but Roald went through the windscreen and almost cut off his nose.

Answer: Like a ripe orange

Captain Harcastle had been in the army during the war and he kept his title of Captain. He had bright orange hair which was a great source of amusement for Dahl and his peers. "Like a ripe orange" is a detailed and amusing simile to describe this feature.

Answer: plum

When Dahl visited the matron complaining of his appendicitis there was another boy in the room called Ellis. Ellis was younger than Dahl and he had a huge boil on his bottom. The matron had called the doctor and without warning Ellis, he ruptured the boil with a scalpel and Ellis was left in immense pain. Dahl comments on Ellis' bravery for such a little boy.

Answer: Doctor

The Norwegian holiday was usually a time for family but one year the ancient half-sister brought along her manly lover, a doctor. The rest of the family disapproved of the way they spent so much time alone and not swimming with the rest of the family. One time when they (half-sister and manly lover) went off for a swim Dahl had an ingenious plan.

He concealed some shaved goat's droppings amongst the manly lover's tobacco. When the manly lover returned for a smoke of his pipe, he was left choking on the fumes of goat's tobacco.

Answer: Easier to say

When Dahl's mother asked him which public school he would like to go to out of Repton and Marlborough he chose Repton because it was easier to say. He recognised that they were both very good schools but for readers it would have been interesting to see life at Marlborough in comparison to the evil Boazers at Repton.

Answer: 3 with it off

If you did anything wrong during the night at Repton you had to report straight to the headmaster for the cane. When you arrived he would ask you whether you would like 4 strokes of the cane with the dressing gown on, or 3 with it off. The common idea among the students was that the dressing gown provided some protection so it was preferable to have 4 with it on.

Answer: Archbishop of Canterbury

Dahl comments on how he finds it difficult to understand how a man who relentlessly beats little boys with a strip of wood could be able to take up the holy position of Archbishop of Canterbury. He thought that you had to be kind and understanding to undertake such an important religious position, but apparently not.

Answer: Coffee Cream bar

Repton was reasonably close to the Cadbury's chocolate factory and so when they wanted analysis on their new inventions they would sent samples to the school for the boys to taste. Young boys were considered experts on the matter because they ate lots of chocolate and were the target market.

There were always nine new bars and one control bar, the coffee cream bar. The boys were asked to mark the chocolate and also make comments.

Answer: Maths

Corkers was one of Dahl's favourite teachers because he took teaching as a joke. Despite being paid to teach maths he often told long, amusing stories and would periodically stop, sniff the air and shout "Who farted?"

Answer: Boazers

Boazers were the older students who had the power to do pretty much anything to the younger ones. They could summon you to their office for the cane, get you to warm their toilet seat in the winter and other horrible things. Dahl recounts how he and another fag were set the task of making Carlton's study spotless.

However when Carleton found one speck of dust, they would get the cane. Dahl could have become a Boazer in his latter years but the teachers said that he was too nice.

Answer: Fives

Dahl was very good at sports and as captain of two sports had a lot of respect and responsibility in the school. He had to arrange maths with other school and all sorts of other organizing. This success should have made him a Boazer but he was one of the very few sports captains who never became one because he was too nice.

Answer: Egypt

When Dahl joined Shell he had been hoping to go somewhere exotic with forests etc. For most people Egypt would be that but Dahl wanted something different. So when he turned this position down he made a pact with the manager that he would take the next available space. Fortunately for him this was in East Africa where he got exactly what he wanted and had many great experiences.