The Magic Finger

“I can’t stand hunting. I just can’t stand it. It doesn’t seem right to me that men and boys should kill animals just for the fun they get out of it. So I used to try to stop Philip and William from doing it. Every time I went over to their farm I would do my best to talk them out of it, but they only laughed at me.”

Dahl speaks through the unnamed narrator and tells the reader the moral of the story: he condemns hunting and the killing of other living creatures. This quote also reveals the connection between hunting and toxic masculinity, touching on the depiction of stereotypical gender roles.

“I PUT THE MAGIC FINGER ON THEM ALL!”

The all-caps draws readers’ attention. This line is the catalyst for the rest of the novel’s events. The protagonist notably doesn’t claim the Magic Finger as her own, instead almost separating it from her body. The Magic Finger appears to have a mind of its own.

“The Magic Finger is something I have been able to do all my life. I can’t tell you just how I do it, because I don’t even know myself.”

The Magic Finger is a key part of the narrator’s character but remains a mystery to both her and readers. The source of its magic is unknown, but it correlates with the narrator’s rage. It becomes a tool through which the author can impart justice upon the other characters.