The Adventures of Roald Dahl The autobiography, “Going Solo,” by Roald Dahl is about the adventures he faced throughout his journey as a World War II pilot. Throughout the novel, Dahl exhibits the ability to draw readers in and make them want to read more. His techniques and excellent storytelling skills helped develop this novel into an amazing read. As W. Somerset Maugham once said, “There are three rules to writing a good book. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. ” This being said, one could see that some rules prove to be more crucial than others.
Based on this novel, three andatory rules include, in-depth description, thrilling moments, and most importantly a thoughtful ending. Dahl has the ability to describe something with incredibly precise details, leaving the reader with an exact visual of what he saw. This makes the readers feel as if they are in Dahl’s shoes, experiencing the livid moments with him. By doing this, it is improving the story for the reader. For example, shortly after his enlistment in the Royal Air Force in Nairobi, Kenya, he was put into flying training. There Dahl was given a Tiger Moth.
According to his descriptions, a Tiger Moth was an efficient and erobic biplane powered by a gypsy engine, which is known to have never failed in the air. Tiger Moths also never dropped a wing, could glide upside down, spin vertically downwards, and could suffer innumerable horrible landings. Furthermore, a Tiger Moth had two cockpits meant for the instructor and the trainee in which they could communicate through a rubber mouthpiece. All of these feats made it the ideal starter plane for beginners. In addition to his description of a Tiger Moth, Roald Dahl also had interesting encounter with a snake.
On a Sunday evening, Dahl as making his way to an Englishman’s house for dinner. Upon his arrival he was greeted by none other than a very poisonous green mamba in the doorway of the home. Dahl wisely yelled up to the family and they exited through the second story bathroom window calmly as if it was no big deal. Fuller, the Englishman got right to work fetching the snake man, Donald Macfarlane. A few minutes later, Mr. Fuller and the snake man got out of the car. Dahl described the snake man as very elderly man, probably in his seventies. According to Dahl, Macfarlane’s facial features are deep set in a round face.
He even goes to the extent of describing his face as, ” dark and wrinkled as a walnut. ” Furthermore, he had pale blue eyes and thick white eyebrows while his hair was almost black. He wore leather boots made of thick cowhide, and long gauntlet like gloves that reached above his elbows. In his right hand, he carried an eight foot wooden pole with a forked end. The fork was made of flexible black rubber which made it easier to catch the snake. In the other hand, he carried an ordinary brown sack. Dahl also mentioned that the snake man moved like a leopard with slow cat-like strides.
Being able to visualize scenes in the finest detail helps readers to imagine themselves in his position. As a result, the reader has a more thorough understanding of the book. The fact that Dahl’s writing makes the reader visualize with ease is definitely a rule to writing a good book. Throughout the book, Dahl also adds very exciting events that keeps the readers at the edge of their seat. As a result, the readers want to keep reading and not put the book down. For example, Dahl’s battle against the fierce JU-88 fighter planes. It was one of his first times flying solo and he came across a group f six JU-88’s in the air in front of him.
Once the enemy spotted Dahl’s plane they got into line-abreast formation. This was considered to be the worst position for a pilot considering that it allowed all six of the planes to be shooting at him simultaneously. Dahl stated that, “They were flashing past his cockpit like fireworks. ” After all of this tension has built up the reader should be scared to know what happens to Dahl, enhancing their desire to read more. Luckily for Dahl the valley they were flying in narrowed forcing the Ju-88’s to go line-astern, leaving only a single stream of bullets coming at him.
In the end, Dahl ends up shooting an engine of a plane causing it to fall to the ground, and returns to his camp safely that evening. Another exciting event that Roald Dahl’s plane crashed. At the time Dahl did not know that he was given false information and was searching for a place that did not exist. He was given directions to go to the remote location at where his squadron was located. Nightfall came and he still had not found the location. The plane eventually ran out of fuel and the engine failed plummeting Dahl into to desert sands at seventy miles per hour. As a result of the impact, he as knocked out completely.
When he woke up he remembered little besides a mighty whoosh as the petrol and starboard tank went up in flames. Soon enough the tremendous heat around his leg galvanized his brain into action. With all the power left in him, Dahl managed to get out of the plane and crawl to a bearable spot on the sand, and immediately fell asleep. Not until later after he was rescued and sent to the hospital, did he find out the severity of his injuries. He fractured his skull, knocked out a few teeth, had a pushed in nose, and was temporarily blinded. Excitement is one of many keys to writing a uccessful book.
By adding exciting and thrilling scenes to the book, Roald Dahl is drastically improving the readers want to read. They would much rather read an exciting page-turner, then a dull boring one, thus making excitement a crucial rule in writing a book. opened during the novel is when There is no better way to write a good book than to have a thoughtful ending. The ending of the book is what the reader is left with to remember. In most cases, if the ending isn’t satisfying that results in the reader to find the whole novel unsatisfactory. Dahl does an amazing job providing a well hought of heartfelt ending to his book.
In the novel, Dahl was away from his family for three years fighting as a fighter pilot in the war. Due to the injuries he sustained he was invalided home to Britain. Once he arrived, he found the nearest telephone kiosk only to find out his mother’s line had been disconnected months ago. At the moment, Dahl feared that his family had died in the years he was gone. Later he was told they found a Mrs. Dahl in a city a few hours away, but he denied it was her. Devastated upon the outcome, he walked to the nearest hotel in hopes of being able to get ahold of a distant relative.
He was able to find the number of his ancient half sister and gave her a call. He was informed that his mother and sisters did infact live in Grendon Underwood, the city a few hours away. She excitedly gave him his mother’s number and told him to stay the night at her house. Unable to get a taxi, Dahl walked to Hampstead and stayed the night. Early the next morning he went a bus to Grendon Underwood. As they got closer, Dahl was able to see his mother from 100 yards away. He signaled for the bus to stop as he ran down the stairs and flew into the arms of his waiting mother.
For the most part, a successful book has a thoughtful ending, not a boring ending that has nothing to do with the plotline of the story. Not only does Dahl make this moment heartfelt, but he makes it relatable to the reader. Anyone can relate to being away from family for a long time, and the joy that comes from seeing them again. Dahl’s ability to provide such a heartfelt ending transforms, “Going Solo,” from great, to amazing. Throughout the autobiography, Roald Dahl shares the struggles, successes, and adventures he has on his three year journey as a World War II fighter pilot.
Making the reader feel as if they are in Dah’s shoes by providing in-depth descriptions, capturing the reader’s attention by contributing thrilling moments, and giving the reader a thoughtful ending to remember, are just a few of the rules Dahl used to create this successful novel. As W. Somerset Maugham previously said, “There are three rules to writing a good book. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. ” This statement holds true to Dahl’s writing. His ability to combine structure and rules and also humor and adventure makes the novel, ‘Going Solo,” truly remarkable.