Characterization of Mr Botibol

Outer characterization

Mr William Botibol is the main character of the short story “Dip in the Pool” by Roald Dahl. He is an American passenger aboard a British cruise ship in the Atlantic. He is married to a woman named Ethel. 

He has “small black eyes” and a small body that is “wide at the hips, tapering upward to extremely narrow sloping shoulders”. His legs are described as white and skinny and “covered with black hairs”. 

Inner characterization

At the beginning of the story, Botibol appears as an anxious and curious man, asking the purser about the captain’s estimation for the auction. He is trying to gain insider information in order to have an advantage when he places his bet at the auction, which might indicate that Botibol does not have very strong morals. As the conversation progresses, Botibol’s questions start becoming more specific, as he tries to see what a member of the...