Taste by Roald Dahl

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Taste 

                                                    by Roald Dahl

What do you think of when you hear 'Roald Dahl'?

Roald Dahl

• British author, born in 1916, died in 1990
  
• Famous for his children's novels
  
• known for his bizarre, funny,  unpredictable,  and sometimes sadistic style.

When does the story take place?

Hints:

smoking is obviously acceptable, even at a dinner party

Where does this story take place?

The main conflict is

1. internal
2. external

Where is the climax?

What does the title refer to?

1. Tasting wine
2. Having good taste in all sorts of things
3. The taste of good food
4. All of the above

How many people are present?

1. 4
2. 5
3. 6
4. 7

Characters

• Mike Schofield + his wife Margaret + their 18-year-old daughter Louise
• my wife + I 
• Richard Pratt

Mike Schofield

amiable, middle-aged man, stockbroker, 'seeking now to become a man of culture, to cultivate a literary and aesthetic taste'

Richard Pratt

a famous gourmet
 

president of a small society known as The Epicures

each month he circulates a pamphlet on food and wines

organises dinners where suptuous dishes and rare wines are served

Louise Schofield

18-year old girl

obviously attractive and polite

trusts her father

materialistic?

Mrs Schofield

Mike's wife

tries to stop the bet

avoids conflict

gives in to her husband

The Maid

Inconspicuous, constantly in the background

Hardly noticed by anyone

She is the hero of the story (=irony)

"I" and his wife

Narrator

Is the narrator objective?

1. Yes
2. No

Characterisation

How does the author give us the information about the characters?

Sometimes by giving us background information, but there is more.... 

Richard Pratt

List the words that Richard Pratt uses to describe the wine.

What do these adjectives mean? 

For what do we normally use such adjectives?

Richard Pratt

Pay attention to the way Pratt is described:

'about fifty years old...did not have a pleasant face...it was all mouth -mouth and lips- the full, wet lips of the  professional gourmet...like a large, wet keyhole'

'and he raised his eyebrows, a slight, supercilious arching of the brows, and with it a pushing outward of the wet lower lip, suddenly imperious and ugly.'

 "I saw his tongue shoot out, pink  and narrow, the tip of it dipping into the wine, withdrawing swiftly again - a repulsive sight" (p20)

Richard Pratt

• What do you think of Richard Pratt?
  
• Watch the video up to 1:20 and realise why Roald Dahl may have chosen this name for this character.
  

Characterisation

What others say about them:

"As we sat down, I remembered that on both Richard Pratt's previous visits Mike had played a little betting game with him over the claret, challenging him to name its breed and its vintage. Pratt had replied that that should not be too difficult provided it was one of the great years."

Characterisation

What others say about them:

"...for Mike was quite willing to lose the bet in order to prove that his wine was good enough to be recognised, and Pratt, for his part, seemed to take a grave, restrained pleasure in displaying his knowledge."

Based on what the narrator says about them, we can conclude that both Pratt and Mike Schofield

1. are powerful men, experts in their fields
2. are show-offs who care a lot about what other people think of them
3. are friendly, caring men, always with an eye on their families
4. are players, sleeping aroud and proud of it

study questions

• Who is the winner of the bet? Who teaches who a lesson?
• How would you react if you were the daughter?
• How do you feel Schofield treats his wife and daughter? 
• How realistic is this story? How realistic are its characters?