Going Solo Roald Dahl Character Analysis

Imagine being thrust into war and upon arrival, you find out that this is a place, “where pilots were disappearing like flies" (The First Encounter with a Bandit, 38). Roald Dahl wrote a memoir titled, “Going Solo" about his time he spent away from England for three years. Dahl left England to take a job in Africa for three years, along his journey he had to leave his job in order to fight against the Germans during World War II where he met a variety of unique and different individuals. Two characters Dahl meets are David Coke and The Corporal who are both involved with fighting against the Germans in the war, but Dahl describes them as two different people. David Coke is generous, while The Corporal is a negative person.
To begin with, along
While Dahl is having a conversation with the Corporal, the Corporal states, "‘Crash bang wallop! Shot down in flames! Explodin’ in the air!" (The First Encounter with a Bandit, 11). According to the Corporal, he really does not believe that they will be able to survive with the limited amount of planes that the British have. In addition, the Corporal is also someone who is selfish. For instance, the Corporal says “It’s took somebody thousands of hours to build it. And now those silly sods behind their desks back in Cairo ’ave sent it out ’ere where it ain’t goin’ to last two minutes” (First Encounter with a Bandit, 35). All the Corporal is concerned about is how many planes he may potentially lose in the battle and not value the pilot’s life who has to go up there and fight in the battle. The men risking their lives are not really taken into consideration.
Throughout Dahl's experiences in "Going Solo" the two characters he meets while fighting in the war, David Coke and The Colonel, have two different views about dealing with war. David Coke is the helpful pilot to Roald, while The Colonel is more pessimistic about their situation. Dahl is able to look at the good and the bad of war and make the best of it in order to