#RoaldDahlDay: 15 levenslessen uit zijn wereldberoemde boeken
Roald Dahl zou vandaag zijn honderdste verjaardag vieren. De schrijver, die 26 jaar geleden overleed, stal vele harten. Van zowel kinderen als volwassenen.
Dahls bekendste boeken zijn ondermeer De Grote Vriendelijke Reus, waar recent een film van werd uitgebracht door Steven Spielberg, Sjakie en de Chocoladefabriek, De Reuzenperzik, Matilda en De Griezels.
Zijn boeken dienden niet alleen als vermaak: je kan er ook een aantal geniale levenslessen uit halen. The Telegraph zette ze op een rijtje:
1. “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – The Twits
2. “Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog.” – Matilda
3. “A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.” – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
4. “So please, oh please, we beg, we pray Go throw your TV set away And in its place you can install A lovely bookshelf on the wall…” – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
5. “Don’t gobblefunk around with words.” – The BFG
6. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you.” – The Witches
7. “All you do is to look/ at a page in this book/ because that’s where we always will be. No book ever ends/ when it’s full of your friends”. – The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
8. “You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I’ve also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it. So watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you but his eyes stay the same. It’s sure to be a phony.” – Danny the Champion of the World
9. “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – The Minpins
10. “If I were a headmaster I would get rid of the history teacher and get a chocolate teacher instead.” – Roald Dahl Cookbook
11. “So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.” – Matilda
12. “Some people when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumble and give up. There are others, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable. You meet them in time of war and also in time of peace. They have an indomitable spirit and nothing, neither pain nor torture nor threat of death, will cause them to give up.” – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
13. “When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty.” – Boy: Tales of Childhood
