The Magic Finger

Authors use this literary device to emphasize a point or clarify an idea. By using a word or phrase repeatedly, one draws the reader’s attention to a scene and makes moments in the text more memorable. Authors can use repetition in the same sentence, or extend it over the course of a single work.

In The Magic Finger, Dahl uses repetition to make narrative beats more predictable. Repetition allows younger readers to foresee upcoming events. Dahl also uses repetition to draw attention to certain sequences and actions. When the unnamed narrator uses the Magic Finger, she says: “I saw red. And before I was able to stop myself, I did something I never meant to do” (10). The color red repeats in the text and, paired with the narrator’s anger, signals the coming of the Magic Finger. The repetition becomes an incantation.

Used by Plato to describe Socrates’s transcribed works, the term “dialogue” is now used to refer to a character’s spoken lines. Dialogue between characters can establish characterization, tone, and provide