Characters and speaker

The most important characters in “The Ant-Eater” by Roald Dahl are the boy named Roy and the ant-eater. Other secondary characters are the boy’s father and the boy’s aunt.

Roy

Roy is the only-child of a rich family from San Francisco Bay. He is mediocre in all aspects of his life:

Half-baked; half-witted and half-boiled,
But worst of all, most dreadfully spoiled. 

The amount of things owned by Roy is exaggerated. His father is the one who immediately grants the boy every wish he might have:

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. 

Roy is not able to enjoy all the magnificent things he owns. Instead, he focuses on what would make him unique: owning a “giant ant-eater”. When his father obtains the animal with great difficulty, Roy shows no mercy when he sees the animal “half-dead” 

“Please give me food!” the creature cried.
“Go find an ant!” the boy replied. 

The ant-eater punishes Roy for his cruelty when he eats his aunt. Terrorised of might happen to him, Roy hides. He is ironically described by the poet as being a hero. The irony is even bigger, as a humiliated Roy hides behind horse-manure:

Meanwhile, our hero Roy had sped
In terror to the potting-shed.
And tried to make himself obscure
Behind a pile of horse-manure. 

The end of the poem indicates that there will be no future for Roy. He is most likely to be eaten by the vengeful ant-eater:

And said to Roy, “You little squirt,
“I think I’ll have you for dessert.” 

The Ant-Eater

Before beginning to characterise the ant-eater, it is important for you to notice how an animal receives human-like characteristics. This is but one reason why the poem is s...