The Magic Finger

Roald Dahl uses the unnamed narrator to connect with younger readers. Using direct address and casual, conversational diction, readers feel as though they are being told a story orally. The narrator addresses the reader directly, telling them: “Last week, something very funny happened to the Gregg family. I am going to tell you about it as best I can” (7).

By leaving the protagonist unnamed, readers can better imagine the narrator for themselves. Dahl provides only the basic details of a rural English town. Much like the unnamed narrator, Dahl leaves the setting’s specifics up to the audience to fill in for themselves. This lack of detail is a writing trope often found in fables. Fables contain a moral lesson meant for everyone. When fables are vague about the time and location where a story takes place, it can resonate with more readers. 

The Magic Finger can be read as a fable. The novel’s fantastical elements, talking animals, straightforward plotline, and moral fit the genre. The book’s cover asks: “What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted?” (1). This line does not appear in the text of the novel itself. It sets up an expectation for the reader that hunting will be a core issue. The moral of The Magic Finger is that hunting is bad, and it is important to preserve and respect nature. The narrator conveys this as she tells of how the Greggs, who love hunting, are punished and then reform.

Most fables contain elements of punishment, reward, and forgiveness. The narrator tells readers at the beginning: “I got the whole story from Philip and William the next morning, after it was all over” (15). This reassures readers that no harm will come to any of the characters.

Combined with its many illustrations, The Magic Finger incorporates humor to convey its moral. The Greggs are punished in fantastical and ironic ways. After hunting ducks, Mr. Gregg becomes one. Dahl writes: “For now he was a tiny little man! He was maybe as tall as the seat of a chair, but no taller. And where his arms had been, he had a pair of duck’s wings instead!” (22). The exclamations add to the casual, conversational tone.

This comedic scene, though silly, underscores the nature of the family’s crime. Their inability to respect or empathize with animals has resulted in their being turned into them. The novel aims to discourage hunting. Dahl also emphasizes the importance of preserving nature and having empathy. These themes encourage young readers to reconsider their relationship to the environment and to animals.