AUTHORITY IN ROALD DAHL

AUTHORITY IN ROALD DAHL’S BOOKS.
https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/6832/40027_Vinas_Valle_Laura.pdf?sequence=1
http://www.fundaciongsr.org/documentos/6246.pdf


According to Britannica:
Authority, the exercise of legitimate influence by one social actor over another. There are many ways in which an individual or entity can influence another to behave differently, and not ofthem have equal claim to authority.
Max Weber identifies three inner justification , or sources of legitimacy, for the exercise of authority: (1) traditional norms sanctified by long-standing convections, (2)charisma, which attracts the personal confidence and devotion of followers, and (3) rational-legal considerations supported by the belief in the validity of legal statutes and functionalcompetence.

In almost all of Dahl’s fiction-whether it be intended for children or for adults- authoritarian figures, social institutions, and societal norms are ridiculed or at least undermined” (KRUEGER, 98)
Conflicts of power are, also, one of the characteristics of Roald Dahl’s literature, and two clear examples are Matilda and Charlie and the chocolate factory, the two books that I am talking aboutin my paper. There is a correlation of issues of power represented by adults and children in both novels. There is a domineering-dominated relationship, and at least the children rebels and takes control of the situation.
In Roald Dahl's books, children are living under rules imposed by adults, about what to do and what not. Adults try to impose their own criteria so that children have no choiceto abide them. But how is it taken that power and authority by adults? However, the authority figures in literature Roald dahl justify this power because of they are grown-ups. I would emphasize that fulfills the first condition of authority as defined by Weber as it is supposed to be a universal truth that parents should have authority. Matilda's parents emphasize this point in its favor,despite his young daughter acts in a more judicious way that them. The dahliano child however is quick to reject this argument by highlighting the weaknesses of the adult. For Matilda, who judges his father for scamming people, or highlights that her mother also pokes a finger in her nose.

In real life, adults represent maturity. It is said that someone should be mature when it reaches adulthood, andthroughout society older people are respected by the fact of being, to have more experience and ultimately more power of influence, which, as seen above is the definition of authority. Well, Roald Dahl change this and represents a universe where adults neglect their children. Although the analysis focuses on Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I would add that the pattern "father figureneglects his children" is repeated in most children's stories of Roald Dahl. For example, Sophie in "THE BFG" is an orphan girl, the protagonist of George George's marvelous medicine, has to deal not only with neglect of his grandmother, but the abuse and bad manners. Parents of Matilda eg neglect giftedness of her daughter. They call her "Noisy chatterbox" when she could talk at an early age, shestarts school much later than other children or she stays at home alone because her mother is in bingo.



En los libros de Roald Dahl, los niños viven bajo normas impuestas por los adultos, sobre lo que se puede hacer y lo que no. Los adultos tratan de imponer sus propios criterios de modo que los niños no tienen más remedio que acatar las reglas. Pero cómo se llegar a asumir ese poder y esaautoridad por parte de los adultos? Pues bien, las figuras autoritarias en Roald dahl literatura justifican este poder a través de la edad. Me gustaría resaltar que cumple la primera condición de autoridad según la definición de Weber, ya que se supone que es una verdad universal que los padres deben tener autoridad. Los padres de Matilda resaltan este punto a su favor, pese a que su hija pequeña...