#4 Issue: The Swan

Hello and welcome to the fourth issue of A Story for the Week!

The story of the week is The Swan, a story featured in Roald Dahl’s short story collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.

Roald Dahl is a British author best known for whimsical children books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and James and the Giant Peach, which were adapted into movies. Even though I watched all of these movies, somehow, Dahl’s name evaded my literary radar. That is, until September when I watched The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short stories by Wes Anderson. Since then, I’ve been on a quest to read as many Dahl’s works as I can.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More is a short story collection, but it’s intended for older audiences. In Dahl’s words at the beginning of the book:

“This book is dedicated with affection and sympathy to all young people (including my own son and three daughters) who are going through that long and difficult metamorphosis when they are no longer children and have not yet become adults.”

Dahl has other short story collections for older audiences, such as Tales of the Unexpected, and a number of short stories scattered around different publications that were later published as collected works.

The Swan is a story of three boys, bullying, and almost annoying, indomitable spirit. The story starts with Erinie, a boy who was given a .22-caliber rifle for his birthday and then tasked to bring a rabbit to his father for supper.

A boy who gets a rifle for his birthday will surely do as he’s told, won’t he?

He wants to, but only initially.

Upon seeing Peter Watson, a boy who is busy with bird watching, Ernie and his friend Raymond have a sudden change of heart:

“Peter Warson was always the enemy. Ernie and Raymond detested him because he was nearly everything they were not. He had a small, frail body. His face was freckled, and he wore spectacles with thick lenses. He was a brilliant pupil, already in the senior class at school although he was only thirteen. He loved music and played the piano well. He was no good at games. He was quiet and polite. His clothes, although patched and darned, were always clean. And his father did not drive a truck or work in a factory. He worked at the bank.”

It could be jealousy. It could be a terrible upbringing. It could be a pure evil, in its early stages of development. It could be all of the above, but does it really matter?

Ernie and Raymond take it upon themselves to torment young Peter in ways so cruel that you’d almost think they are adults.

However, cruel and reckless as they are, they forget there are strong and restless spirits out there, and you can’t break them easily:

“Some people, when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumple 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.”

Initially, you’d be inclined to see this as an anti-bullying story. Even though there’s that element in the story at the very surface, I see this story as one big allegory, especially because Dahl said the book is intended for those “who are going through that long and difficult metamorphosis when they are no longer children and have not yet become adults.” I’d say there’s one more layer to this story, about the rejection of adulthood.

So, if you look at Peter, he’s the person who’s struggling to accept adulthood and still sticks to his ideals. Two boys, Ernie and Raymond, could represent the society that forces you into situations where you should abandon all hope and surrender to adulthood where you make these smart, pragmatic decisions. Finally, the swan is a symbol of purity, innocence, and ideals.

When it comes to storytelling, Dahl assumes the role of the traditional storyteller, the one who’s sitting by the fire and telling you a story, a story that you can’t afford to stop listening to because he’s telling it so masterfully. He combines long and short sentences. While long sentences are used to paint the picture and are typically of descriptive nature, short sentences are there to show the intensity of demanding situations and how, suddenly, your brain has nothing more to say except a couple of words.

The Swan is an excellent read, and a fast one, if you’re looking for that. Even if you’re not looking into Dahl’s words as much as I am, you can enjoy the story. I also recommend you check out other stories in the collection, namely The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, you won’t regret it.

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