Themes

There are two dominant themes worth analysing in the poem “The Ant-Eater” by Roald Dahl: the critique of the wealthy and the power of nature.

The critique of the wealthy

As you have already seen, the entire poem somehow criticises the inappropriate and ignorant behaviour of the rich. Since the very beginning of the poem, the reader gets to know that Roy’s life is governed by money and by an exaggerate accumulation of possessions:

His father bought him right away -
Toy motorcars, electric trains,
The latest model aeroplanes,
A colour television-set,
A saxophone, a clarinet,
Expensive teddy-bears that talked,
And animals that walked and squawked.
That house contained sufficient toys
To thrill a half a million boys. 

This enumeration does not only show the abundance of toys and things Roy owns, but it also symbolises the excess which describes the wealthy class in general. Roy may not have needed all the things he owns; his father simply bought them because he had the financial possibility.

The poet criticises the wealthy class because of the extravagance created by owning money and beca...