Argumentative Essay Writing: Develop an Argument for Matilda as a Feminist Novel

Topic: Argumentative Essay: Matilda A Feminist Novel
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Feminism is a range of ideologies that aims at defining, establishing and achieving the rights of women both economically, socially and politically. This term also goes to the extent of making us belief that women and men ought to have equal rights and opportunities in the society that we live in. Roald Dahl in his novel Matilda introduced us to a world where we have fullyformed women rather than men as usual. The only men that are involved in the novel are Mr. Wormwood, Bruce Bogtrotter and Nigel although they do not play much role in male representations. Much focus in the novel is on Matilda and her best friend Lavender who is as adventurous as her. Their relationship is so inspiring such that one can crave for such feminine friendship with another.
Matilda was classified by her classmates as the smart one, the girl adores her teachers and fully in control of herself. She found her earliest friends in books but not dolls. Sheis very adventurous and very active and outsmarts her parents by going to the library herself to read and get more knowledge when her parents refuse to buyher books and novels. Seemingly they dismissed her intellectual powers and favored her less gifted brother; “You couldn’t, the father said. You’re too stupid. But I don’t mind telling young Mike here about it seeing he’ll be joining me in the business someday” (Dahl 16).
Relatedly there are other sexist statements when her father says that no-one in the world could give the right answer just like that, especially to a girl like Matilda. Apart from these feministic statements from Mr. Wormwood, Trunchbull does not also like women either: “I have discovered, Miss Honey, during my long career as a teacher that a bad girl is a far more dangerous creature than a bad boy. Nasty dirty things, little girls are” (Dahl 80).Through this we can recognize that Matilda is aware of oppression as a result of her gender and therefore she exhibits aspects of feminism.
When she is accompanied by her friends, she stands up against the rude and authoritative Miss Trunchbull in a style that only boys perform in most traditional literature. According to the prank played by Lavender concerning the actions of Miss Trunchbull, Hortensia and Matilda are seen as two heroines who don’t require men help them against the monster but decides to act without reservation. We can also note from the character of Hortensia, at the age of ten, he is still much interested in the regaling newcomers with her tales and she doesn’t need boys like Bruce to come up with great pranks. From this, the author Dahl tells us about gender stereotypes and proves to us that girls can as well fulfill males’ roles perfectly.
In the novel we find also another woman called Miss Honey, she is a good adult female personality. She is so meek, soft, gentle in talking and conventionally feminine. Miss Honeys silence plays a very important role in terming this story to be so feminized. Miss Honey is con...