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The Magic Finger

 The Magic Finger
type
TVTItem
 The Magic Finger
label
The Magic Finger
 The Magic Finger
page
TheMagicFinger
 The Magic Finger
comment
The Magic Finger is a 1966 children's book written by Roald Dahl.A young girl has the inexplicable power to curse anyone who makes her angry with the Magic Finger. She hates hunting, and when her neighbors, the Gregg family, refuse to stop hunting, the power of the Magic Finger is upon them. The next day, the Greggs wake up in their beds the size of ducks and with duck wings. How are they going to get back to normal?
 The Magic Finger
fetched
2024-03-08T08:45:47Z
 The Magic Finger
parsed
2024-03-08T08:45:47Z
 The Magic Finger
processingComment
Dropped link to AnAesop: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Magic Finger
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Magic Finger / int_1ad6e2da
type
Little Bit Beastly
 The Magic Finger / int_1ad6e2da
comment
Little Bit Beastly: Anyone affected by the Magic Finger gains animalistic features. Mrs. Winter grows whiskers and a tail after scolding the girl for spelling "cat" incorrectly, and the Greggs get their arms turned into wings.
 The Magic Finger / int_1ad6e2da
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_1ad6e2da
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
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The Magic Finger / int_1ad6e2da
 The Magic Finger / int_2b78c29d
type
And Another Thing...
 The Magic Finger / int_2b78c29d
comment
And Another Thing...: After the family have promised the ducks that they will throw away their guns, the ducks tell them to come down from the tree, with the final words "By the way, may I congratulate you for the nest. For a first effort, it's pretty good."
 The Magic Finger / int_2b78c29d
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_2b78c29d
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
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The Magic Finger / int_2b78c29d
 The Magic Finger / int_40ec9225
type
Permissive Parents
 The Magic Finger / int_40ec9225
comment
Permissive Parents: Mr. Gregg allows his sons, who are eight and eleven years old, to hunt with him. After they turn into birds, however, they give up their hunting ways.
 The Magic Finger / int_40ec9225
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_40ec9225
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_40ec9225
 The Magic Finger / int_463084f4
type
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger
 The Magic Finger / int_463084f4
comment
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: The narrator is a young girl who can point at anyone who makes her angry and turn them partway into an animal.
 The Magic Finger / int_463084f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_463084f4
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_463084f4
 The Magic Finger / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 The Magic Finger / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: The Greggs kill a young deer early in the book, this proves to be the final straw for the girl and she puts the magic finger on them. The human-sized ducks are perfectly willing to shoot Philip and William, who are young boys. When Mrs. Gregg protests that they wouldn't hurt her children, the duck just retorts that Mr. Gregg shot all six of its children yesterday.
 The Magic Finger / int_479d4e5a
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_479d4e5a
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 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_479d4e5a
 The Magic Finger / int_53136954
type
Book Dumb
 The Magic Finger / int_53136954
comment
Book Dumb: The girl adds 8 + 3 to make 10 and spells "cat" with a "k".
 The Magic Finger / int_53136954
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_53136954
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_53136954
 The Magic Finger / int_5360c039
type
Karmic Transformation
 The Magic Finger / int_5360c039
comment
Karmic Transformation: A family of hunting enthusiasts grow wings, shrink to the size of small birds, and are forced to live in a nest in a tree while a family of anthropomorphic ducks move into their house. Earlier in the book, the girl's school teacher Mrs Winter becomes half-human, half-cat for trying to punish the girl for misspelling the word cat.
 The Magic Finger / int_5360c039
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_5360c039
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The Magic Finger / int_5360c039
 The Magic Finger / int_590c9468
type
Hunting Is Evil
 The Magic Finger / int_590c9468
comment
Hunting Is Evil: The girl narrator's Berserk Button is hunting and she yells at the Greggs every time they return home with a new catch. As she has magic powers that are set off when she gets too angry, she accidentally turns them all into human-bird hybrids. After they get a taste of what being a bird is like, the Greggs promise to never hunt again when several ducks (who have become human-sized and have grown hands) threaten them at gunpoint.
 The Magic Finger / int_590c9468
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_590c9468
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 The Magic Finger
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The Magic Finger / int_590c9468
 The Magic Finger / int_617f0563
type
Heel–Face Turn
 The Magic Finger / int_617f0563
comment
Heel–Face Turn: When the human-sized ducks are threatening to shoot them, Mr. Gregg promises that he'll never hunt any duck, deer, or other animal ever again and destroy his guns to make it final. He and his family follow through with their promise.
 The Magic Finger / int_617f0563
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_617f0563
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_617f0563
 The Magic Finger / int_6d7026fa
type
Punny Name
 The Magic Finger / int_6d7026fa
comment
Punny Name: The Greggs change the family name to Egg after vowing never to hunt animals, especially ducks, again.
 The Magic Finger / int_6d7026fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_6d7026fa
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 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_6d7026fa
 The Magic Finger / int_6edc54d5
type
Here We Go Again!
 The Magic Finger / int_6edc54d5
comment
Here We Go Again!: The story ends with the girl hearing gunshots and running off to find the Cooper family as she feels her finger heating up.
 The Magic Finger / int_6edc54d5
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_6edc54d5
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_6edc54d5
 The Magic Finger / int_7276d0de
type
Mugging the Monster
 The Magic Finger / int_7276d0de
comment
Mugging the Monster: Because nobody knows about the Magic Finger, anyone who makes the girl angry risks getting hit by it.
 The Magic Finger / int_7276d0de
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_7276d0de
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_7276d0de
 The Magic Finger / int_96a33f11
type
Riddle for the Ages
 The Magic Finger / int_96a33f11
comment
Riddle for the Ages: It is never explained where the power of the Magic Finger comes from. Not even the girl knows, just that she has been able to do it her whole life.
 The Magic Finger / int_96a33f11
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_96a33f11
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_96a33f11
 The Magic Finger / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 The Magic Finger / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Earlier in the book, the girl talks about the first instance where she used the magic finger and turned her school teacher Mrs Winter into a half-human, half-cat hybrid for trying to punish her for misspelling the word "cat". After the girl puts the magic finger on the Greggs, Mr. Gregg and his sons encounter four ducks who dodge their shot and persue them all the way home. They are still circling the house when Mr. Gregg goes out to fetch wood for the fire, this creeps him out enough to forget about the wood and immediately suggest he and Mrs Gregg should hit the sack immediately.
 The Magic Finger / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_9d12bbc1
 The Magic Finger / int_9ff7276d
type
Literal Transformative Experience
 The Magic Finger / int_9ff7276d
comment
Literal Transformative Experience: The Greggs, a family of hunting enthusiasts, sprout wings, shrink to the size of small birds and are forced to live in a tree in their garden, while a family of anthropomorphic ducks move into their house. The ducks eventually threaten the hunters with their own guns, but the hunters get the ducks to back down by swearing to renounce their hunting lifestyle and become vegetarian, at which point the ducks allow them back into the house and the transformation wears off. After this, Mr. Gregg is seen smashing the family's guns with a hammer while Mrs. Gregg lays flowers on a makeshift grave for the many victims of past hunts, and Philip and William scatter birdseed for a huge flock of birds.
 The Magic Finger / int_9ff7276d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_9ff7276d
featureConfidence
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 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_9ff7276d
 The Magic Finger / int_a1b141f4
type
My God, What Have I Done?
 The Magic Finger / int_a1b141f4
comment
My God, What Have I Done?: The girl genuinely fears for the Greggs after she puts the magic on them and tries to call them by phone and only hears a duck quacking in response.
 The Magic Finger / int_a1b141f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_a1b141f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_a1b141f4
 The Magic Finger / int_a679184b
type
Due to the Dead
 The Magic Finger / int_a679184b
comment
Due to the Dead: As part of the family's atonement for hunting ducks, Mrs. Gregg buries the sixteen ducks they shot in small graves and lays flowers on them.
 The Magic Finger / int_a679184b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_a679184b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_a679184b
 The Magic Finger / int_b5f97c12
type
Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears
 The Magic Finger / int_b5f97c12
comment
Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: In one edition, a picture shows the parents hiding their sons' eyes with their wings when the ducks are pointing the guns at them.
 The Magic Finger / int_b5f97c12
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_b5f97c12
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_b5f97c12
 The Magic Finger / int_b97a2fa7
type
Forced Transformation
 The Magic Finger / int_b97a2fa7
comment
Forced Transformation: This is the main character's special ability, although it so horrifies her that she never uses it unless she's really annoyed with someone.
 The Magic Finger / int_b97a2fa7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_b97a2fa7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_b97a2fa7
 The Magic Finger / int_bc74ef27
type
Berserk Button
 The Magic Finger / int_bc74ef27
comment
Berserk Button: The premise of the story is that an eight-year-old girl points her magic finger at anybody who makes her angry, and terrible things happen to that person. She cannot stand anybody hunting animals, and when the Gregg family hunt ducks, she puts the Magic Finger on them all; the family turn into duck-sized people, with wings instead of arms, and end up nesting in a tree for the night. Meanwhile, their house is invaded by four human-sized ducks, with arms instead of wings. For the Greggs: The human-sized ducks using the stove, handling Mr. Gregg's gun, sleeping one of the boys' beds and playing with the other's electric train set.
 The Magic Finger / int_bc74ef27
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_bc74ef27
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_bc74ef27
 The Magic Finger / int_c87660d5
type
Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!
 The Magic Finger / int_c87660d5
comment
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Mr. Gregg has to do this to his wife and sons when they start to cry over the reality of having duck wings instead of arms and being shut out of their own house by human-sized ducks and this is before they experience the very worst of what their situation can throw at them!
 The Magic Finger / int_c87660d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_c87660d5
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_c87660d5
 The Magic Finger / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 The Magic Finger / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: The girl with the power of the Magic Finger is never given a name.
 The Magic Finger / int_ca87e3ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_ca87e3ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_ca87e3ec
 The Magic Finger / int_d99add77
type
Symbolic Weapon Discarding
 The Magic Finger / int_d99add77
comment
Symbolic Weapon Discarding: The Gregg family are forced to live as ducks for a day as revenge for hunting and killing them. Afterwards, the family vows to live as vegetarians, and Mr. Gregg smashes the family's guns into pieces with a huge hammer.
 The Magic Finger / int_d99add77
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_d99add77
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_d99add77
 The Magic Finger / int_e6a901a3
type
Meaningful Rename
 The Magic Finger / int_e6a901a3
comment
Meaningful Rename: After vowing never to hunt ducks, deer or other animals again, the Gregg family changes their last name to Egg to honor their feathered friends.
 The Magic Finger / int_e6a901a3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_e6a901a3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_e6a901a3
 The Magic Finger / int_e8760868
type
Space Whale Aesop
 The Magic Finger / int_e8760868
comment
Space Whale Aesop: Don't hunt ducks (or deer or any other animal), or you will wake up one day as a winged human the size of a duck while the ducks will become humanoid and hunt you for sport.
 The Magic Finger / int_e8760868
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_e8760868
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_e8760868
 The Magic Finger / int_f7ea98a2
type
Handy Mouth
 The Magic Finger / int_f7ea98a2
comment
Handy Mouth: When the Greggs have their arms replaced by duck wings, they use their mouths to carry sticks and build a nest in a tree, since the ducks have taken over their house. This is inverted when it is discussed that it is extremely difficult for them to eat apples from a tree with their mouths, with no hands to hold them with.
 The Magic Finger / int_f7ea98a2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_f7ea98a2
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1.0
 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
The Magic Finger / int_f7ea98a2
 The Magic Finger / int_name
type
ItemName
 The Magic Finger / int_name
comment
 The Magic Finger / int_name
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1.0
 The Magic Finger / int_name
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 The Magic Finger
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The Magic Finger / int_name
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itemName
The Magic Finger

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Magic Finger
hasFeature
And Another Thing... / int_eed30592