Summary

The author begins the story with an introduction to Matilda and her family. Matilda is a 5-year-old girl belonging to the Wormwood family. She is nothing like her parents, who are mean and unpleasant. She is also a genius. She has always spoken like an adult and has taught herself to read. Matilda, therefore, spends much of her time reading books in her house while her parents and her brother while their time away in front of the television.

Matilda quickly finishes reading all the books in her house and goes to the local library to find more. The kindly librarian introduces her to classics such as “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” by Thomas Hardy “Great Expectations“ by Charles Dickens, and “Jane Eyre.”

Matilda’s father, Mr. Wormwood, is a car salesman. He is extremely dishonest and tricks people into buying useless cars. He teaches Michael, Matilda’s brother, the ways of his business. This is when Matilda understands that her father is cheating people. She tries to tell her father that what he is doing is wrong, only to infuriate Mr. Wormwood and be called ignorant and stupid.

Matilda thus retaliates for her parents’ bad behavior in her own way. She pulls a bunch of pranks on them. Here begins the rising action of the story. She gets her dad to glue his hat to his head. She bleaches her father’s hair blonde by swapping out her father’s hair tonic for her mother’s platinum hair dye. She also uses the neighbor’s parrot to deceive her family into thinking that there is a ghost in the dining room. These pranks do not have a lasting impact on her parents, but they teach Matilda to stand up for herself.

Finally, Matilda becomes old enough to go to school. There, she meets a teacher, Miss Honey, who understands her and cares for her. Miss Honey recognizes the potential within Matilda and tries to move her up to an advanced class. Though Matilda can read and write better than any other student in the class, Miss Honey fails in her attempt to move Matilda to a higher grade. The reason is Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress of the school, who believes that Matilda is a naughty child. She thinks that Miss Honey is simply trying to get rid of her. Miss Honey then tries to reason with Matilda’s parents about moving her to an advanced class but to no avail.

Matilda, however, adjusts to her classmates in Miss Honey’s class very well. She becomes fast friends with another girl named Lavender, who shares her adventurous spirit.

Matilda finds out more about the mean headmistress from her friends, such as Hortensia. The headmistress, referred to as “The Trunchbull”, is mean and abusive. She doles out frightening punishments to students who offend her, including locking them up in the chokey. Matilda witnesses Miss Trunchbull throwing a young girl in pigtails (Amanda Thripp) over the fence of the playground by her hair only because she does not like pigtails. When Miss Trunchbull finds out that a boy named Bruce Bogtrotter stole a piece of cake from the kitchen, she makes Bruce eat an enormous chocolate cake in front of the school as punishment. Thus, the tussle between the evil headmistress and the students forms the central conflict in the story.

Miss Trunchbull takes one of Miss Honey’s classes the following week. Matilda’s friend Lavender volunteers to get a pitcher of water and a glass for Miss Trunchbull before their class begins. As an act of rebellion, she puts a newt into the pitcher, which gets tipped into the glass when Miss Trunchbull tries to drink from it. This is when Matilda discovers her telekinetic powers for the first time. The headmistress then blames Matilda for the newt, and the injustice of the situation causes Matilda to bubble up with anger. She stares at the glass of water and uses her mind to tip the glass onto the headmistress along with the newt.

Miss Trunchbull leaves the class in a fury, and Matilda informs Miss Honey of her powers. She demonstrates her powers once again, and Miss Honey, amazed, invites her back to her cottage for tea. Matilda discovers that Miss Honey is poor. When she asks her teacher why she cannot afford a nice house and better furniture, Miss Honey replies that a mean aunt has taken away her inheritance and continues to take away her salary. She then reveals that her terrible aunt is Miss Trunchbull.

This is the turning point in the story. Matilda is disturbed by this revelation but quickly forms a plan in her mind. She practices her powers for a week and waits for Miss Trunchbull to take her class once again. The climax of the story occurs as Matilda stands up to Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull arrives, and while the headmistress is abusing the students, Matilda lifts a piece of chalk to the board with her magical powers. She writes a message on the blackboard from Miss Honey’s father (Magnus), asking Miss Trunchbull (addressing her as Agatha) to give his house back to his daughter. Miss Trunchbull faints from fright. She leaves the town, never to return.

The revelation of Miss Honey’s plight adds emotional depth, and Matilda’s response is both brave and ingenious. By practicing her powers and eventually confronting Miss Trunchbull with a message from Miss Honey’s deceased father, Matilda orchestrates a dramatic climax that resolves the injustices faced by her beloved teacher. This blend of courage and cleverness not only propels the story forward but also highlights Matilda’s extraordinary character.

The falling action then begins. Miss Honey soon receives the will that her father had left behind, which had hitherto been concealed by Miss Trunchbull. She also receives the deeds to her father’s house and moves into it. This marks the resolution of the story, with Miss Honey’s inheritance reclaimed. Matilda is moved to an advanced class. However, she loses her powers since her mind is challenged with academic work.

One day after school, Matilda returns home to find her family packing to leave for Spain. She asks her father when they plan on returning. Her father tells her that he will never return. Panicking, Matilda runs to Miss Honey and tells her what has happened. Miss Honey informs Matilda that Mr. Wormwood is a crook who deals with criminals and that it is only a matter of time before he runs away. Not wishing to leave Miss Honey, Matilda asks her father if she can stay behind with her. Her father agrees and her family drives away in the car.