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Michael “Mike” Wormwood
Nigel is a boy in Matilda’s class at Crunchem Hall Primary School. He comes to school already knowing how to read some words. When Miss Trunchbull sits in on Miss Honey’s class the first time, she makes him stand in the corner on one foot as punishment for having dirty hands. He also annoys her by sharing that Miss Honey taught the entire class to spell “difficulty” using a song.
Nigel Quotes in Matilda
The Matilda quotes below are all either spoken by Nigel or refer to Nigel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 13 Quotes
“How perfectly ridiculous!” snorted the Trunchbull. “Why are all these women married? And anyway you’re not meant to teach poetry when you’re teaching spelling. Cut it out in future, Miss Honey.”
“But it does teach them some of the harder words wonderfully well,” Miss Honey murmured.
“Don’t argue with me, Miss Honey!” The Headmistress thundered. “Just do as you’re told!”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Nigel has just shared the song with Miss Trunchbull that Miss Honey used to teach her students to spell “difficulty.” In the song, each letter or letter group of the word is a married woman (so, Mrs. D, Mrs. I, and so on). Referring to Miss Honey’s habit of using song to teach hard words as “ridiculous” shows just how out of touch Miss Trunchbull is with teaching theory. Songs are easier for lots of people to memorize, and songs exist to help people learn all sorts of things—from the alphabet, to U.S. presidents, to the elements of the periodic Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi
Chapter 20 Quotes
“I wish I was grown up,” Nigel said. “I’d knock her flat.”
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Soon before Miss Trunchbull arrives to take over Miss Honey’s class, Miss Honey warns the children to behave—and Nigel wishes he could effectively fight back against Miss Trunchbull. With this, Nigel gets at a feeling that the novel suggests is universal among kids. It’s normal for children to feel like they have no power over the adults around them—and indeed, to feel like adults are all-powerful and able to get whatever they want. The only remedy, Nigel suggests, is to grow up. Doing so will give him the physical strength and power to take Miss Trunchbull (and other adult bullies) Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat.
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Nigel Character Timeline in Matilda
The timeline below shows where the character Nigel appears in Matilda. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7. Miss Honey
...if any students can spell “cat.” Matilda, a girl named Lavender, and a boy named Nigel put their hands up. Then, Miss Honey writes, “I have already begun to learn how...
(full context)
Chapter 13. The Weekly Test
...to stand up and show her their hands; she wants to make sure they’re clean. Nigel’s hands aren’t clean enough, but he tries not to be afraid as Miss Trunchbull shouts...
(full context)
To punish Nigel, Miss Trunchbull tells him to stand in the corner on one foot, facing the wall....
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...that Miss Honey wasted a whole class teaching the class to spell one word, but Nigel says the lesson only took three minutes because Miss Honey gives the class little songs...
(full context)
Chapter 20. The Third Miracle
...the morning, Miss Honey checks in with the students who were physically harmed last time. Nigel says he wishes he were a grown-up—he’d knock Miss Trunchbull over. Miss Honey tells the...
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Just as the Trunchbull screams at Wilfred that eight threes is 24, Nigel screeches that the chalk is moving on its own. Everyone stares at the blackboard, where...
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...the floor—and sure enough, she fainted. Miss Honey sends someone to fetch the matron, while Nigel notes that his father insists it’s best to pour water over someone who’s fainted. He...
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