The Magic Finger

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For the following day, the Greggs must fly around and try to find food, while a family of four human-sized ducks inhabit their home. Like all Dahl's books its Blake's illustrations that adds an extra layer of enjoyment, seeing the Gregg's trying to build a nest was so funny. The four ducks then head back toward the lake where they live, before letting the Greggs leave their tree. It’s not his worst book but The Magic Finger is definitely down there as among Roald Dahl’s lesser efforts.

It finishes by looking at the character of the girl and thinking about how she uses her magic finger for good - and the children think about what positive change they might make with a magic finger. Written in 1964 Roald Dahl's 'The Magic Finger' is a lesson well taught through a little girls magical finger. The magic isn't developed, and we don't spend enough time with the narrator to know her or care about her. She thus sets off, telling the Eggs that the Coopers will be nesting in the trees that night; in some versions of the book, an illustration at the end shows the Cooper family sitting in a nest, having fallen victim to the Magic Finger's same curse as the Eggs before. Even that infamous photo of an American dentist standing over a lion he shot is more nuanced than the narrative pushed of some rich asshole wanting to prove he’s a “real man” by killing a “noble creature”.

The fact is that the local rangers cull lions to keep the human population safe as well as allow the remaining lions enough food to keep from preying on local children. The way in which the narrator characterized her magic finger as something outside herself and not under her control, while Dahl makes it clear that her feelings direct what happens, could have led to a really interesting psychological examination of anger and action and valuable points about responsibility and self-control. The story is a classic but no less wonderful tale of the value of life and how humans often think animals less. He was also the author of Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and many more brilliant stories.

On this mini-binge of Dahl writing, I came across this short story that speaks volumes to the younger generation. The following morning, the Greggs all find that, in a major reversal of their habits, three out of four of the ducks are holding the Greggs' hunting guns in their hands. But online outrage culture doesn’t allow for nuance so people on Twitter went crazy and came up with their own silly narrative.

The Gregg family loves to hunt - oftentimes for sport rather than need - and the poor girl has to watch them bring in all these dead animals every week. It’s a better alternative to factory farming if you’re going to eat meat, not least as it’s more humane - and I’m certain Dahl was a meat eater too. While trying out their new wings, the Greggs fly out of their beloved house, which is promptly occupied by four human-sized ducks with human arms and human hands, and they are all soon forced to build a nest in an old tree for the night.

Their mother tries to comfort them, saying, “I can mince it all up very fine and you won’t even know the difference. Hunters have been given a really bad rap this past hundred years or so in the West and that really needs to stop.The story is told in the first-person perspective from an unnamed protagonist living in the English countryside. In the novel's rising action, we are introduced to the girl with the magic finger, made aware of her hatred for hunting, introduced to her neighbors,,,, who love to hunt, and apprised of the fact that her magic finger is activated by her anger. After some flying, the Greggs notice four wild ducks “as big as men” with “great long arms, like men, instead of wings” going into their house (28). A classic Dahl tale that past me by as a kid, it never seems to be mentioned alongside his other best sellers. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities.