Short Stories
"The Way Up to Heaven"
ROALD DAHL - Biography
Roald Dahl (English pronunciation: /ˈroʊ.ɑːl ˈdɑːl/[2], Norwegian: [ˈɾuːɑl dɑl]; 13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his more well-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG.
"The Way Up to Heaven"
Plot/Description
Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of being late. Whenever she is in danger of missing a train or plane or an engagement, a tiny muscle near her eye begins to twitch. The worst part is that her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, seems to torment her by making sure that they always leave the house one or two minutes past the point of safety. On this particular occasion Mrs. Foster is leaving to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris for the first time ever, and she's frantic to think that she'll miss her flight. By the time her husband finally joins her at the car, she's too far behind schedule. Luckily the flight is postponed til the next day, and Mr. Foster persuades her to come home for the night. When she's ready to leave the next day, though, her husband suggests that they drop him off at his club on the way. Knowing this will make her late, she protests in vain. Just before the car leaves, he runs back in the house on the pretense of picking up a gift he forgot for his daughter. While he's gone Mrs. Foster discovers the gift box shoved down between the seat cushions. She runs up to the house to tell him that she has the gift... and suddenly she pauses. She listens. She stays frozen for 10 seconds, straining to hear something. Then she turns and runs to the car, telling the driver that they're too late and her husband will have to find another ride. She makes her flight and has a wonderful visit with her grandchildren. She writes her husband every week and sends him a telegram before she flies home six weeks later. He's not at the airport to meet her though, and when she enters the house (after taking a taxi home) she notices a curious odor in the air. Satisfied, she enters her husband's study and calls the elevator repairman. It had jammed and she left him to die there!
Classroom Activities
Vocabulary Work
1. List 10 words from the story which describe Mrs Foster as being either nervous or afraid.
2. Find one word in the story which means the same as:
a. unhappy, disappointed
b. very tired
c. find out about something
d. an odd habit or tendency
e. for a short time
Comprehension
1. Why is Mrs Foster upset with her husband at the beginning of the story?
2. How did her husband make her anxious the following morning?
3. What crucial decision did she finally make?
4. What were Mrs Foster's feelings at the end of the story?
Discussion Points
1. Was Mrs Foster right to want to live in Paris? Should husbands and wives always go away together?
2. Do you sympathise or not with Mrs Foster? Do you think she should go to prison? Do you understand why she let her husband die?
Writing
1. Write a short letter (100 words) from Mrs Foster to her daughter in Paris. Describe what happened when she returned home and describe her plans for the future.
Review
1. Is the ending to the story predictable or unpredictable? Give reasons.
The Way Up to Heaven "The Way Up to Heaven"
ROALD DAHL - Biography
Roald Dahl (English pronunciation: /ˈroʊ.ɑːl ˈdɑːl/[2], Norwegian: [ˈɾuːɑl dɑl]; 13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his more well-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG.
"The Way Up to Heaven"
Plot/Description
Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of being late. Whenever she is in danger of missing a train or plane or an engagement, a tiny muscle near her eye begins to twitch. The worst part is that her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, seems to torment her by making sure that they always leave the house one or two minutes past the point of safety. On this particular occasion Mrs. Foster is leaving to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris for the first time ever, and she's frantic to think that she'll miss her flight. By the time her husband finally joins her at the car, she's too far behind schedule. Luckily the flight is postponed til the next day, and Mr. Foster persuades her to come home for the night. When she's ready to leave the next day, though, her husband suggests that they drop him off at his club on the way. Knowing this will make her late, she protests in vain. Just before the car leaves, he runs back in the house on the pretense of picking up a gift he forgot for his daughter. While he's gone Mrs. Foster discovers the gift box shoved down between the seat cushions. She runs up to the house to tell him that she has the gift... and suddenly she pauses. She listens. She stays frozen for 10 seconds, straining to hear something. Then she turns and runs to the car, telling the driver that they're too late and her husband will have to find another ride. She makes her flight and has a wonderful visit with her grandchildren. She writes her husband every week and sends him a telegram before she flies home six weeks later. He's not at the airport to meet her though, and when she enters the house (after taking a taxi home) she notices a curious odor in the air. Satisfied, she enters her husband's study and calls the elevator repairman. It had jammed and she left him to die there!
Classroom Activities
Vocabulary Work
1. List 10 words from the story which describe Mrs Foster as being either nervous or afraid.
2. Find one word in the story which means the same as:
a. unhappy, disappointed
b. very tired
c. find out about something
d. an odd habit or tendency
e. for a short time
Comprehension
1. Why is Mrs Foster upset with her husband at the beginning of the story?
2. How did her husband make her anxious the following morning?
3. What crucial decision did she finally make?
4. What were Mrs Foster's feelings at the end of the story?
Discussion Points
1. Was Mrs Foster right to want to live in Paris? Should husbands and wives always go away together?
2. Do you sympathise or not with Mrs Foster? Do you think she should go to prison? Do you understand why she let her husband die?
Writing
1. Write a short letter (100 words) from Mrs Foster to her daughter in Paris. Describe what happened when she returned home and describe her plans for the future.
Review
1. Is the ending to the story predictable or unpredictable? Give reasons.
STUDENTS' VIEW
Description of characters
Mr. Foster
He is an old man, nearly seventy years old.
He tries to control his wife all the time. He is mean, because he usually makes things to provoke her phobias.
He is a selfish man, he is only interested in himself.
He seems to enjoy her wife’s phobias.
He seems to enjoy when his wife suffers from her phobias.
He does not love his daughter much. He does not to see her. He is a typical man of the nineteen fiftieths.
Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of missing a train, a plane, a boat… although she is not a particularly nervous woman. That fear makes her twitch the corner of her left eye, for an hour, even the plane has been safely caught.
She has been married for over 30 years and even she has been a good and loving wife (she has served her husband loyally and well), her husband controls her - although she has refused to let her believe that Mr. Foster would ever consciously torment her.
With this trip to Paris, one part of her realizes that her husband manipulates her, and it makes her move on in the way that she continues with something that she really wants (to know her grandchildren) even her husband doesn’t like it. So, in one way she makes herself free.
On the other hand, we think she is used to that kind of life, and maybe she needs that her husband treats her in that way. And that’s why she still remembers her husband and writes to him.
The death of her husband is a relief to her, because that liberates her from the manipulation of Mr. Foster. However, we also have a few questions: If she hasn’t gone in the car, maybe Mr. Foster would be alive by now? In that case, she is his murderess? Has she killed him consciously? In her desire to be free, does she sees an opportunity that she might not have anymore?
They are an old couple.
Mrs. Foster is a poor woman who's been taken to extremes by her mean husband.
Mr. Foster is authoritative with her. The woman, probably, had been educated like that.
He seems to enjoy watching his wife suffer, especially in the later years of their married life.
For over thirty years, she has served him loyally and well.
They are tired of each other. He is irritated by her foolishness. She is tired by his authoritative manners and the life she's had with her husband.
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