69 pages • 2 hours read
Roald DahlMatilda
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-6
Reading Check
1. How old is Matilda when she first learns to read?
2. What does Matilda’s father, Mr. Wormwood, do for work?
3. According to Mr. Wormwood, what is the secret to getting a car with worn gears to run smoothly?
4. On what item of Mr. Wormwood’s clothing does Matilda place superglue?
5. With what product does Matilda switch her father’s dark hair lotion ?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does the school librarian, Miss Phelps, help Matilda become an even better reader?
2. How does Matilda get to “see the world” from the confines of her bedroom? What are some examples of the places she “travels” to?
3. When Mr. Wormwood tears up Matilda’s copy of The Red Pony, how does she get revenge?
4. Why does Mr. Wormwood accuse Matilda of cheating?
5. How does Matilda compare to Michael in terms of how they are treated by Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood?
Paired Resource
“Roald Dahl Wanted His Magical ‘Matilda’ To Keep Books Alive”
- In this 8-minute NPR interview, Lucy Dahl, the youngest of Roald Dahl’s five children, discusses Matilda.
- Lucy explains that her father felt books could reveal the ways in which Kids Are Worthwhile.
- What do you think about Lucy’s description of her father’s special writing “hut”? Do you have something similar to the “hut,” a place of your own where you can go to be creative?
“Matilda at 30: ‘She Would Have Been Prime Minister for a Couple of Years by Now‘”
- In 2018, Matilda would have turned 30 years old. In this Guardian article celebrating her “birthday,” six different children’s authors imagine what Matilda might be doing in modern times. The article is illustrated by Quentin Blake, who created the original illustrations in Matilda. (Free registration may be needed to view.)
- This article connects with the theme Pushing Back Against Evil.
- Which of the six options do you like best for Matilda’s future? What do you think she would be doing at 30 years old, based on her traits in the novel?
CHAPTERS 7-14
Reading Check
1. What kind of poem has Matilda written about Miss Honey?
2. What is the name of the child who first tells Matilda about “The Chokey”?
3. Which one of Miss Honey’s students volunteers to make sure there’s a glass and a water jug ready for Miss Trunchbull?
4. What book by Charles Dickens does Miss Trunchbull insist Matilda has not read?
5. What would the perfect school lack, as Miss Trunchbull tells Miss Honey?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. In what ways are Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull contrasting personalities at Crunchem Hall Primary School?
2. Dahl paints a vivid picture of Miss Trunchbull. What are some of Miss Trunchbull’s physical attributes?
3. What is Mr. Wormwood’s opinion of universities, as he tells Miss Honey?
4. Why does Miss Trunchbull target Amanda Thripp for punishment? What happens to Amanda?
5. How does Miss Trunchbull’s punishment of Bruce Bogtrotter backfire?
Paired Resource
- In 2022, Quentin Blake, the artist who created the illustrations in Matilda, turned 90 years old. This article in The Conversation celebrates his life and work.
- One of Blake’s longest partnerships was with Roald Dahl on many of Dahl’s books. Through his illustrations, Blake contributed to the overarching theme of Kids Are Worthwhile in many of Dahl’s works.
- How do Blake’s illustrations enhance the narrative in Matilda? What might the book lose if they weren’t present?
“Bruce (Full Song)-Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”
- In 2022, Netflix released a musical adaptation of Matilda, starring Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, and Lashana Lynch. This 3-minute clip reveals an imaginative reinterpretation of the cake-eating scene in Chapter 11.
- Bruce’s confrontation with Miss Trunchbull is a strong example of the theme Pushing Back Against Evil, in which he defiantly eats the entire cake set before him by Trunchbull.
- How does this musical adaptation compare to the scene in the book?
CHAPTERS 15-21
Reading Check
1. Matilda asks Miss Honey what the word precocious means. How does Miss Honey respond?
2. What happened to Miss Honey’s parents?
3. When Miss Honey was a child, if her aunt deemed her bath incomplete, what would she do to Miss Honey?
4. What item does Matilda steal from her father to practice telekinesis?
5. At the conclusion of the book, which two characters will live in The Red House?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. When Matilda is first learning to control her telekinesis, how does she prove her power to Miss Honey? What does she say her power feels like?
2. What are Matilda’s first impressions of Miss Honey’s cottage?
3. What is the financial arrangement Miss Honey has with her aunt? Why was this arrangement put into place?
4. What are the three questions Matilda asks Miss Honey after she agrees to not tell Miss Honey’s story to anyone?
5. What does Matilda write on the chalkboard using her telekinetic powers, and how does this resolve the conflict?
Recommended Next Reads
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- This story features Charlie Bucket, an honest boy who is one of a few lucky children to be granted a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory.
- Shared themes include Kids Are Worthwhile and Pushing Back Against Evil.
- Shared elements include Dahl’s characteristic dark humor and acute observations.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on SuperSummary
The BFG by Roald Dahl
- In this 1982 children’s classic, young Sophie is kidnapped by a giant—but he turns out to be a kind giant who gives good dreams to children in their sleep. Sophie enlists in the BFG’s help to stop his nine neighbor giants from pursuing their terrible habit of eating humans.
- Shared themes include Finding a New Family, Kids Are Worthwhile, and Pushing Back Against Evil.
- Shared topics include dark humor and brave protagonists.
- The BFG on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-6
Reading Check
1. 3 years old (Chapter 1)
2. He is a used car salesman. (Chapter 2)
3. Adding sawdust to the oil (Chapter 2)
4. His porkpie hat (Chapter 3)
5. Her mother’s peroxide hair dye (Chapter 6)
Short Answer
1. When Matilda expresses an interest in reading adult books, Miss Phelps introduces her to classics, including Pride and Prejudice and The Grapes of Wrath. Miss Phelps also explains that Matilda can check books out, so that she can take them home to read them. (Chapter 1)
2. Matilda is able to “travel” just by reading stories. For example, she goes to Africa, a setting in Ernest Hemingway’s writing, and she travels to India, a setting of Rudyard Kipling’s. (Chapter 1)
3. Matilda borrows her friend Fred’s parrot, who can talk. She stuffs the parrot in the chimney, then convinces her family that they are being haunted by a ghost when it talks during dinner. (Chapter 4)
4. Matilda listens as Mr. Wormwood attempts to teach Michael (Matilda’s brother) about car-sales profit, which involves Michael needing to do basic arithmetic to calculate net-profit. As Mr. Wormwood walks Michael through the numbers, Matilda shouts out the correct answers from across the room; Mr. Wormwood angrily accuses Matilda of cheating. (Chapter 5)
5. Matilda is ignored, pushed aside, and ridiculed by her parents. Michael is given preferential treatment: He is doted on by his parents, especially Mr. Wormwood, who hopes that Michael will one day become a used-car salesman like himself. (Chapters 1-6)
CHAPTERS 7-14
Reading Check
1. A limerick (Chapter 7)
2. Hortensia (Chapter 10)
3. Lavender (Chapter 12)
4. Nicholas Nickleby (Chapter 13)
5. Students (Chapter 14)
Short Answer
1. Miss Honey is Matilda’s teacher. She is young, shy, and loved by all her students. Miss Trunchbull is the intimidating headmistress of the school; she is tyrannical and cruel. The students are fearful of her. (Chapter 7)
2. Miss Trunchbull has small, arrogant eyes and a cruel mouth. Her chin juts out, and she wears a belted brown smock and green breeches. Her body is bulky and athletic. (Chapter 8)
3. Mr. Wormwood thinks that universities are useless, and he doesn’t want to invest any time or effort in helping Matilda attend one. He also thinks they merely teach students “bad habits.” (Chapter 9)
4. Miss Trunchbull targets Amanda because Amanda comes to school wearing pigtails, and Miss Trunchbull hates pigtails. She orders Amanda to have them cut off at home, but Amanda says her mother likes her pigtails. As punishment, Miss Trunchbull grabs Amanda by her pigtails, spins her around, and then throws her over the fence. Amanda lands softly in the grass and though a bit dazed, she returns to the playground. (Chapter 10)
5. As punishment for stealing Miss Trunchbull’s dessert, Miss Trunchbull forces Bruce to eat a large chocolate cake onstage in an assembly in front of the entire school. Bruce somehow manages to eat the whole thing without getting sick; this angers Miss Trunchbull, who shatters the empty plate on his head. (Chapter 11)
CHAPTERS 15-21
Reading Check
1. Miss Honey tells Matilda that precocious refers to someone who demonstrates superior intelligence at a young age. (Chapter 16)
2. Miss Honey’s mother died suddenly when she was just two years old. Her father died by what appeared to be suicide. (Chapter 17)
3. The aunt (Miss Trunchbull) would hold Miss Honey’s head under water. (Chapter 18)
4. A cigar (Chapter 19)
5. Matilda and Miss Honey (Chapter 21)
Short Answer
1. Matilda proves she can knock over a second glass in front of Miss Honey, as she did with Miss Trunchbull. She says that using her powers feels like flying past the stars on “silver wings.” To Matilda, it feels wonderful. (Chapter 15)
2. The cottage reminds Matilda of a fairy-tale house. The sparse furnishings and rough accommodations are noticeable, however, and Matilda asks if Miss Honey is poor. (Chapter 16)
3. Miss Honey is forced to pay her aunt almost her entire salary for 10 years to pay the aunt back for her childhood food and clothing. Even though this puts Miss Honey into poverty, she is too scared of her aunt to say no. (Chapter 17)
4. The three questions are: What did Miss Honey’s aunt call her father? What did her father call Trunchbull? What did they both call Miss Honey? (Chapter 18)
5. Matilda writes: “Agatha, this is Magnus.” As Magnus, she writes that Miss Trunchbull should give Miss Honey back her house. Miss Trunchbull, terrified, believes the ghost of her brother (Miss Honey’s father) is making the demand. She faints. When she recovers, she gives The Red House and Magnus’s bank accounts to Miss Honey. Miss Honey has a bigger, better residence and the money necessary to offer Matilda a home at the end of the story. (Chapters 20-21)
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