The Twits

The latter half of the book focuses on the animals getting back at the Twits, a process that exemplifies the book’s three major themes: Actions Have Consequences, Teamwork Brings Us Together, and The Benefits of Quick Thinking. Years ago, the Twits were monkey trainers in the circus, and their terrible natures have led them to keep monkeys captive and train them under harsh conditions. This mistreatment reinforces how horrid the Twits are and sets them up for the end of the book when they succumb to the shrinks. In contrast to the Twits, the monkeys are portrayed as caring creatures. They try to warn the birds about the Hugtight glue, but they are unable to do so because they do not speak the same language as the birds. Despite the language barrier, the monkeys want to help; they demonstrate that kindness is not dependent on similarities. Despite the differences between the monkeys and birds, both in communication and in species, the groups come together to help each other and to teach the Twits a lesson.

The arrival of the Roly-Poly Bird, which makes teamwork between the birds and monkeys possible because he speaks both languages, highlights how removing communication barriers allows people to get to know and help one another. This is also a turning point in the story for the Twits. Until now, the Twits have spent their days being terrible to one another and to the monkeys because they have had all the power and no one to question them. When the birds and monkeys unite, they are able to thwart the Twits at every turn—keeping the birds from being cooked in a pie and eventually freeing the monkeys. As a result, the Twits are angered by the disruption of their routine and by how the animals are outsmarting them. As in earlier chapters when the Twits didn’t realize they were unintentionally helping the other be crueler, they also do not realize how intelligent the animals are and that the animals are banding together to get back at the Twits. The Twits have tunnel vision—they see only what they want to see and base what they know only on what they’ve believed in the past. To them, the monkeys are brainless creatures who exist only to do tricks, so they cannot fathom that the monkeys are plotting against them.

At first, the Twits’ decision to buy guns seems like a solution to their problem with the birds and monkeys. However, Muggle-Wump, who understands The Benefits of Quick Thinking, develops a plan to rid the animals and everyone else of the Twits for good. Because they can’t imagine the animals could best them, the Twits don’t realize that leaving their home unprotected will cause their downfall. Their departure to buy the guns allows the monkeys and birds to turn the Twits upside down and shows how expectations are a large part of success. Since the Twits can’t believe the animals are smart enough to play a trick on them, they are caught off-guard by the upside-down room. They panic, and in their panic, they do exactly what the animals want—stand on their heads and get stuck. The Twits’ behavior demonstrates the importance of remaining calm in stressful or scary situations and shows that negative consequences result when we don’t think before we act.

The final chapter of the book is full of irony. In Chapter 9, Mr. Twit used the made-up shrinks disease to terrify Mrs. Twit. At the time, Mr. Twit thought telling his wife she had “the shrinks” was hilarious because it frightened her. However, now that Mr. Twit has discovered the shrinks are real, he no longer believes the disease is funny. Instead, it is terrifying because it is real. The Twits have no sympathy for one another because they have spent all their time playing nasty tricks on the other. As a result, they are incapable of helping each other. When they start to shrink, all they can do is yell about how terrible it is until they shrink to the point that they disappear.

Like many of the adults in Dahl’s books, the Twits have no redeeming qualities. Because they have behaved so badly for so long, they don’t understand that, eventually, their Actions Have Consequences. Because they’ve been so nasty to one another and are incapable of empathy, they can’t solve their dilemma through teamwork. Dahl makes it clear that such people aren’t very smart and cannot reap The Benefits of Quick Thinking.