Roald Dahl's Going Solo

"A life is made up of a great number of small incidents and a small number of great ones." Roald Dahl uses this in the preface of his novel, Going Solo, to elucidate the contents are not an exact representation of his life, but rather important moments that left a mark on him. Roald Dahl is most widely known for writing literature for children, young adults, and adults as well. His writings have many parallels with his characters and the events that happen in their childhoods to what happened in Dahl's childhood. He has also written books about his childhood, one being about his experiences in World War II. In Dahl's autobiography, Going Solo, he plays the role of the protagonist and experiences dynamic changes from the man he was before he went out to war and the man who returns. Many of Dahl's childhood experiences contributed to …show more content…
Dahl is faced with challenge after challenge when the harsh reality of his situation finally hits him. Every day problems that people faced in this area where visits from some of the most dangerous animals in the animal kingdom. Black mambas that could kill a grown man with just a single bite were scattered throughout the terrain as well as their relatives the green mambas which are slightly less lethal. Dahl's first experience with a black mamba is when he is in the bathroom one morning and gazing out the window; he suddenly sees one of the man servants outside in the striking vicinity of the mamba. Dahl gets very scared and screams hoping to warn the man servant just in time, which he does. the man servant whacks the mamba with the rake he was holding and chops its head off in a matter of seconds. This is quite remarkable to Dahl because of the quick courage showed by a man servant and his lack of fear while in the midst of the beast. This is where the first change in Dahl's personality is evident, as he witnesses what courage looks like (Dahl