Demon Dentist

“The second thing you noticed about Miss Root was that she was impossibly tall. Her legs were so long and thin, it was like watching someone walk on stilts. […] As she passed, Alfie looked down and noticed a large splash of red on the toe of one of her shiny white high-heeled shoes.”

A simile comparing Miss Root to a stilt walker emphasizes the visual imagery in her physical description. It also contributes to Miss Root’s association with the fantastical, associating her with the way that circus or sideshow performers perform unrealistic feats. Additionally, the red stain on her shoe is juxtaposed against her otherwise immaculate white clothing, contributing to Alfie’s sense that something is suspicious about the new dentist.

“Hansel and Gretel? Yes, of course, everyone has, but that’s just a stupid fairy story.”

After Gabz references the story of the two children who encounter danger after being tempted by a witch, Alfie names the fairy tale and boldly dismisses it. This allusion neatly parallels Miss Root’s insistence that the children at the assembly consume her candy; it also provides an opportunity for Alfie to voice his preteen opinion that stories are just make-believe and not to be granted much significance. His dismissive attitude in this early chapter builds a foundation for character change and the theme of Changing One’s Mindset Following Growth and Maturation.

“Over the years he’s looked after me so well. His whole life he has been looking after me. But […] I didn’t tell him but I had a fall last week while he was at school. I didn’t want to worry him.”

When Alfie overhears Dad’s words to Winnie, he is overcome with emotion and tears, a moment that characterizes the young boy as a loving, concerned son. Indirectly, his choice to keep this news to himself—and not further worry Dad—shows his selflessness. Additionally, this line represents dramatic irony in the plot, as Walliams establishes information to which Dad is not privy: Alfie knows that Dad’s condition is deteriorating.

“So I started asking around the school first thing this morning, and realized it was happening all over town. Kids here, here, here and here […] were all targeted last night, And the calling cards got worse. Much worse. A badger’s paw, a snail that had its shell pulled off, hundreds of centipedes creeping and crawling under some poor girl’s pillow, a filthy sticking plaster, sodden with pus…”

A juxtaposition exists in the early chapters with Gabz’s character; she is described as someone who never speaks for a whole school term but begins speaking out just as Miss Root arrives. Here, her willingness to incite conversations with others is rewarded with information: Gabz learns that she is not the only one to find a horrific “treasure” under her pillow in place of a tooth. The imagery is attention-getting and demonstrates a balanced blend of gory comedy and gruesomeness.

“They’ll strike tonight […] I just know it. Somewhere in this town a child will wake up screaming.”

The first quarter of the novel ends with this line from Gabz, telling in cliffhanger-style language what events may come next. The illustration accompanying this chapter’s end (a terrible, dark cloud forming above the town) contributes to the author’s foreshadowing of continued dark twists. Word choice adds to the suspenseful mood and atmosphere.

“Hey, Miss Marple! You’re the one who’s desperate to find out all about her. Why don’t you go?”

Alfie’s response to Gabz’s insistence that he attend his 2:00 pm appointment with Miss Root indirectly reveals his developing characterization. Gabz appears to be the stronger personality in several scenes thus far and is not afraid to tell Alfie exactly how and why his opinions are incorrect. Here, however, Alfie answers back to Gabz’s pushiness, demonstrating that he can stand up for himself when something important is on the line. His response also includes an allusion to the work of famous mystery writer Agatha Christie, whose protagonist Miss Marple, an amateur detective, is featured in many of her novels and short stories.

“Snood lived and breathed drama. Drama was his love. Drama was his life. Drama was his drama.”

These brief, hyperbolic sentences convey Mr. Snood’s strong passion for theatre arts and acting skills. The cadence of the phrases helps establish the description and introduction of a new character without slowing or interrupting a part of the plot that is fast-paced and action oriented (Alfie running away from Winnie to escape his dentist appointment and Winnie’s pursuit of Alfie on her moped). The author frequently chooses a “tell, don’t show” style to introduce characters, followed by “show, don’t tell” techniques to further develop the characters indirectly through actions, reactions, dialogue, and other characters’ responses.

“Even the ancient secretary, Miss Hedge, shuffled out on her Zimmer frame. ‘I’ll get him!’ she cried, hobbling along way behind the throng, traveling slower than the speed of treacle.”

Strong imagery conveys the comedic moment when Miss Hedge joins the mass group of students, teachers, and staff members pursuing Alfie across the school grounds. Walliams further establishes the comedic value with references to the Zimmer frame and treacle. Zimmer frames, a primarily British name, are helpful support devices used by anyone with mobility difficulties in standing or walking. They are also known as walking frames or “walkers.” They get their name from the American company Zimmer Holdings, which helped to develop the device. Treacle is a syrup byproduct of the sugar refining process and is used as a sweetener in recipes. It is slightly thinner than molasses but is still a slow-moving substance, which explains its metaphorical use here to describe Miss Hedge’s speed.

“The surgery was quite bare. A dental certificate took pride of place on the wall, but the paper and the writing looked like they could be hundreds of years old.”

The description of Miss Root’s dental certificate foreshadows upcoming conflicts based on the dentist’s character. It also echoes the description of Miss Root herself given in the first section of chapters when she entered the school; at that time, Alfie studied her appearance but could not tell how old the woman might be.

“Raj wasn’t a wealthy man, and couldn’t afford to give anything more. But to Alfie and his father, they were like gifts sent from heaven, and the difference between going to bed hungry or not.”

The novel is comedic in tone, but it has occasional shifts to serious topics as well. Dad and Alfie live in a dilapidated house and have little to no food. Many children face food scarcity and food insecurity, and this facet of Alfie’s character can open the discussion on this serious topic. The simile in this line associates Raj’s generosity with treats from the newsstand with saintly behavior, characterizing him as an archetypal ally. Raj’s description also establishes his character as a friend who supports The Benefits of Teamwork in Facing Danger.

“‘Are you sure you want to know the gruesomest one?’

‘Yes and no,’ replied Alfie. ‘But mainly yes…’

Raj took a deep breath before telling him.”

The author ramps up the suspense in the second chapter set of the novel, including key moments to maintain interest. Whether by careful design or accident, this moment’s suspense is heightened because Raj’s deep breath falls at the bottom of a right-hand page—necessitating a turning of a page before the revelation of the “gruesomest” surprise yet (an old man’s toenail).

“Ah, Mrs. Morrissey, my favorite customer […] Here we are! And don’t worry, madam, there is no extra charge for being hit in the head by my flying tooth.”

With this dialogue from Raj, the author indirectly reveals that Raj is just fine despite a surprise tooth extraction. The lines also help to indirectly characterize Raj as a consistently kind and generous clerk who enjoys his job. Raj’s characterization, words, actions, and mannerisms provide moments of comic relief—important to balance the potentially scary plot.

“Alfie was sure that Winnie was about to drop him headfirst into an enormous vat labeled ‘trouble.’”

The author compounds Alfie’s complications on the day that Miss Root extracts his teeth with another unannounced visit by Winnie. This description of Alfie’s worry demonstrates his ability to think creatively and metaphorically. A small drawing of a bin with a “trouble” label accompanies this reaction, emphasizing the reason for Alfie’s pleas to Winnie to leave. Figuratively, Alfie still wants to escape trouble, connecting to the theme of Confronting Adversity Versus Running Away; he will begin confronting trouble more directly after discovering Miss Root’s real identity.

“Something horribly horrible. Something dreadfully dreadful. An eyeball. The long silky nerve at the back was still attached. It was flailing about as if it were a tail, making the eyeball twitch and wriggle on the mattress like a tadpole on dry land.”

Contributing significantly to the horror of the under-the-pillow objects is the fact that many are very recently obtained—freshly ripped (the bat’s wing), freshly chopped (the puppy’s tail), or, in the case of the eyeball, freshly plucked. The visual imagery of the eyeball includes a simile comparing it to a tadpole, which conveys the idea of a gasping struggle; it also includes the use of juxtaposition in connotation with the nerve description (something long and silky is usually also lovely, but that is not the case with a bodiless optic nerve).

“Was that freezing gust of wind the tooth snatcher entering his room? And those eyes under the bed. There was no denying it. Alfie had seen those eyes before. Those black eyes. Now he had to confront their owner.”

Unable to sleep after the eyeball incident, Alfie’s interior monologue reveals his reasoning that the tooth snatcher and Miss Root may be the same. The novel’s third-person point of view relays his thinking process, which shifts into Alfie’s limited perspective at this moment. It follows a useless plea for help from the inept PC Plank; this eliminates the hope of help coming from the law. Not wanting to endanger Dad, Raj, or Gabz, Alfie, following most hero tales, Alfie realizes that he must track down the creature alone. His decision also reflects the theme of Confronting Adversity Versus Running Away.

“Gabz was right after all—witches were alive and well. Miss Root was walking proof. Well, flying proof. And now they were practicing dentistry.”

Alfie’s interior monologue when he sees Miss Root dismount her laughing gas cylinder calls to mind his conversation with Gabz about Hansel and Gretel when Gabz insists that evil witches can exist. Alfie shows flexibility in this moment; he no longer believes that witches and monsters in the real world are impossibilities. This moment marks a turning point in his character arc as he accepts that he is wrong and must deal with the reality of the situation—however unreal it may seem.

“With that she smiles, baring those too-white-to-be-real teeth of hers. She slowly raised her hand, and pulled those teeth out of her mouth. They were false all along. Lifting the veneers away, she revealed the true horror underneath. A set of hideous fangs.”

With this suspenseful play-by-play of action, the author leads up to the cliffhanger ending of the chapter and the third quarter of the novel: Miss Root’s revelation as the Tooth Witch. The descriptive physical movements provide strong visual imagery, and the sudden sight of sharp and bloody fangs provokes a visceral fear, loosely alluding to a host of fairy tales and stories in which monsters threaten to bite or eat the hero. Not the same as false teeth or dentures, “veneers” refers to manufactured coverings for teeth that the wearer uses to improve the appearance of their real teeth.

“After swinging Fang round and round, the most natural next step seemed to be to let her go. Which is exactly what Alfie did.”

A half-page drawing of Fang hitting the cart follows this moment of physical comedy, accompanied by bold onomatopoetic words around the drawing: “Smash” and “CCCCCCRRRRRAAAAASSSHHHH.” Humor, farcical action, and text techniques like drawings and boldfaced type promote interest and keep the story from leaning too much toward horror. Additionally, the sense of simultaneous action as Winnie and Alfie work together to rescue Gabz in this scene helps to develop the theme of The Benefits of Teamwork in Facing Danger.

“For many years coal mining in the town had been extinct. The mine itself had been boarded up. It stood there, ugly and unloved, in an ocean of its own slurry.”

Visual imagery depicts the location of the climactic scenes of the story. The author uses personification to characterize the mine with the words “extinct,” “ugly,” and “unloved.” The metaphorical description of the “ocean” conveys an atmosphere of isolation appropriate for the protagonist’s last stand against his opposing force; once Alfie descends into the mine, he will be alone in his quest (until surprise reinforcement arrives).

“Intrigued, he picked up the goblet and held it close to his face, examining it in the candlelight. This too was made of countless tiny pieces. Studying it, he finally realized what he was looking at.”

The phrase “dawning horror” describes Alfie’s reaction at this moment when he that realizes the room, table, throne, plates, goblets, and everything else in the witch’s lair are not made from mosaic tile but from human teeth. Entering the monster’s lair and making horrifying discoveries is a popular trope in a hero’s quest, echoing back to Beowulf’s pursuit of Grendel’s monstrous mother and their battle in her cave. Significantly, Alfie does not flee, demonstrating his courage and motivation to help Gabz.

“At the front of it, driving the engine, was a welcome face.

Dad.”

Dad called social services when he recognized that he could no longer effectively care for Alfie, but he experiences a change of heart when he hears Alfie is in danger, electing to rescue the boy himself. Dad’s save-the-day moment is realistic thanks to the author’s planted information about Dad: As someone who worked in the mine for many years, his knowledge of the elevator, trains, and layout is logical. That Dad has a chance to participate in a real-life adventure and rescue his son after so many years of telling stories about them is poignant and bittersweet. This twist also supports the theme of The Benefits of Teamwork in Facing Danger.

“Ha ha! Mummy’s coming to get you.”

The author delivers humor even in the book’s scary climactic scenes, combining a suspenseful chase, the witch’s horrific intentions, and a leaking cylinder of laughing gas that causes the “good guys” and the villains alike to giggle around their serious words. Blending horror with comedy ensures a light approach to what might otherwise be intense action and emotion.

“Slowly he reached his hand over to hers, and Winnie held it tight.”

Like many protagonists who come of age, Alfie shows his growth through an increase in courage and confidence as he battles the witch. Another significant demonstration of his maturity, however, shows with his changed feelings about Winnie. Winnie is an antagonistic force for Alfie early in the novel, but after Winnie learns the truth about the Tooth Witch and supports Alfie’s attempt to defeat her, Alfie realizes that Winnie is a supportive archetypal ally. His relief that Winnie will adopt him reflects the theme of Changing One’s Mindset Following Growth and Maturation.