Danny, the Champion of the World

“Most wonderful of all was the feeling that when I went to sleep, my father would still be there, very close to me, sitting in his chair by the fire, or lying in the bunk above my own.”

This quote captures the smallness of their home (a one-bedroom caravan) and the positive spin Danny puts on their situation. Rather than wishing for more space or his own bedroom, Danny loves the fact that his father is always close by and derives comfort and security from his presence. This physical closeness mirrors William and Danny’s emotional closeness.

“‘You must be easily the best 5-year-old mechanic in the world’. This was the greatest compliment he had ever paid me. I was enormously pleased.”

William’s style of parenting is full of positive reinforcement and hands-on learning. In this quote, William compliments Danny after he helps fix the brakes on a car at age five. It is a good example of William’s wholehearted praise and of Danny’s thrilled reaction to the compliment. Danny always wants to please his father, and William always notices and appreciates Danny’s efforts. William often uses variations of “best in the world” when complimenting Danny to show the depth of his pride.

“‘You mean stealing them?’ I said, aghast. ‘We don’t look at it that way,’ my father said. ‘Poaching is an art. A great poacher is a great artist.’”

Danny has just found out that his father likes to go into the woods at night and bring back a pheasant “for the pot” (29). Danny responds with the above exclamation, accurately describing this activity (poaching) as stealing. This quote is important for two reasons: It shows that Danny clearly understands that poaching is illegal, and it introduces William’s attitude to poaching, which is that poaching is an art rather than a crime. Danny quickly accepts his father’s perspective.

“My father paused for breath. His eyes were shining bright as they gazed back into the wonderful world of his youth.”

William is telling Danny the story about how his father invented “The Sticky Hat” (39) method of poaching. The motif of storytelling and its power to convey more than simply the facts is highlighted in this quote. William is teaching Danny the practical tricks of poaching and while doing so, his blissful demeanor is telling Danny that poaching is a wonderful, exciting activity that brought his father great joy when he was young. The second lesson can only be learned through storytelling, where displayed emotions are as important as the words.

“[K]eep your filthy little hands to yourself, you understand? […] If you make any dirty finger marks on my paintwork, I’ll step right out of this car and give you a good hiding.”

Eight-year-old Danny is about to fill up Mr. Hazell’s Rolls-Royce when Mr. Hazell snaps out the above quote to Danny. Mr. Hazell assumes that Danny is dirty and careless because he is a member of the working class. Mr. Hazell threatens to beat Danny to ensure that Danny and William know their place, which he believes is as inferior and subservient. This quote reinforces the characterization of Mr. Hazell as an obnoxious snob and provides William with moral justification for poaching in Hazell’s Wood.

“He had made no promises to me last week. This time he had said, ‘I promise I’ll be back by 10:30’ […] And he never, absolutely never, broke a promise.”

Danny is still waiting for William to get back from his second poaching trip. William is late and Danny is explaining why he is so worried. The strength of William and Danny’s relationship is underscored by Danny’s absolute (and correct) belief that William would never willingly break a promise to him and therefore something terrible must have happened. The only other time William left Danny alone to go poaching there was no timeline and no promise. This quote shows how well Danny and William know, trust, and love each other.

“I will not pretend I wasn’t petrified. I was. But mixed in with the awful fear was a glorious feeling of excitement. Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t.”

The feelings Danny experiences while driving the Baby Austin, shown in this quote, mirror William’s feelings when he goes poaching. Danny accurately captures one of the main reasons William, William’s family, and his friends are all involved in poaching: partly to provide food, but since food is no longer scarce, poaching is mostly about the excitement. In this quote, Danny’s fear is of crashing the car, in the poachers’ case it is the fear of getting caught.

“It’s worse than that, William! It’s diabolical! Do you know what this means? It means that decent folk like you and me can’t even go out and have a little fun at night without risking a broken leg or arm.”

This quote is Doc Spencer’s reply to William, who has just described the keeper’s pit in Hazell’s Wood, calling it “rotten.” William and Doc are mid-rant about how “diabolical” and “monstrous” these human traps are. This quote is important because it highlights that Doc and William both consider poaching just “a little fun” and poachers “decent folk.”

“I picked out the oldest, bluntest needle I could find. Then I rubbed the point of it on a nail file to make it blunter still […] when I rammed that needle into his fleshy backside, he screamed like a stuck pig.”

In this quote, Doc Spencer is describing the revenge he exacted upon Mr. Hazell for kicking his dog. Doc is proud of his actions, and William is equally thrilled to hear that Mr. Hazell suffered. Even though Doc Spencer has broken his Hippocratic oath and caused his patient harm, William (and likely the other townsfolk) stands in solidarity with Doc Spencer. This mirrors the solidarity shown by the townsfolk toward William’s poaching scheme, which is designed to seek revenge against the reviled Mr. Hazell.

“The cost of rearing and keeping one single pheasant up to the time when it’s ready to be shot is equal to the price of 100 loaves of bread!”

The frivolous nature of pheasant shooting parties is highlighted in this quote. It is taken from a conversation between William and Danny, where William is explaining the magnitude of wasted time and money spent by the upper class just for fun, while (historically) surrounding townsfolk and their families starve. William uses loaves of bread while explaining the concept to Danny. Danny is only nine years old and therefore loaves of bread are more relatable than money, but the comparison highlights the disparity between the luxury of the birds and the basic needs of the townspeople.

“It makes him feel important. For one day in the year he becomes a big cheese in a little world and even the Duke of so-and-so slaps him on the back and tries to remember his first name when he says goodbye.”

In this quote, William is explaining to Danny why Mr. Hazell invests so much in his grand opening-day shooting party. This quote is important because it exposes Mr. Hazell’s weakness and insecurities: his desperation to make (and leave) a mark on people he admires and the sad truth that even though they attend they despise him and don’t even bother to remember his name.

“My father was staring at me with a look of such wonder in his eyes that he might have been seeing a vision.”

Danny has just explained his idea to use sleeping powder to catch roosting pheasants, and the feasibility of this idea is sinking in for William. This quote captures the respect that William has for Danny and the realization that Danny’s idea will have a huge impact on poaching. Rather than dismiss Danny’s idea as silly, William listens to his nine-year-old son and realizing with awe that Danny is right. William had just finished telling Danny that not even his own father had discovered a technique to poach a roosting pheasant, letting the reader know that this is a near-impossible task.

“My father said it was an idiotic thing to do. There were millions of people still alive, he said, who had fought in that war, but most of them wanted to forget the whole beastly thing, especially those crummy military titles.”

Danny is describing what his father thinks about Danny’s school teacher, Captain Lancaster, who still insists that everyone call him “Captain” rather than “Mr.” This quote is noteworthy because Roald Dahl fought in World War II and was a decorated fighter pilot. Rather than glorify war, Dahl has chosen to share his distaste for people who demand respect by flaunting their military titles by creating an unlikable character (Captain Lancaster) who does exactly that. In this quote, Dahl also respectfully acknowledges all the millions of anonymous people who fought in the “beastly” war.

“‘I’ll bet they did it to you when you were at school,’ I said. ‘Of course they did.’”

Danny is talking his father down from wanting to “kill” Captain Lancaster, the teacher who “caned” Danny. In the quote, Danny asks William whether he was “caned” at school too, to which William replies “of course.” After William admits he would not have wanted his own father jumping in, he agrees to let it go. This highlights Danny’s maturity in recognizing that his father becoming involved would likely lead to more trouble for him later.

“‘Was the only reason she went because she loved you, dad, and because she wanted to be with you? Or did she go because she loved poaching?’ ‘Both,’ my father said.”

The characterizations of William as a good man and of poaching as a legitimate and wholesome pastime are reinforced in this quote. Danny is asking his father about his late mother and why she went poaching. William’s answer, that she loved both him and poaching, paints an idyllic picture of a happy, loving couple enjoying a fun evening out poaching. In addition, this quote is significant because it represents one of the few times Danny shows any curiosity about his mother, and William’s reply hints at the pain her death must have caused him.

“My father was in a sort of poacher’s trance. For him, this was it. This was the moment of danger, the biggest thrill of all.”

William and Danny have spotted a keeper as they hide in Hazell’s Wood on the big day. William throws out the laced raisin despite the keeper’s presence. This quote captures the excitement, triggered by fear, that adds to William’s addiction to poaching. The marriage of danger, fear, and excitement expressed here is like that described by Danny as he drove the Baby Austin for the first time.

“‘[Y]ou could offer me anywhere in the world at this moment,’ my father said, ‘and I wouldn’t go.’”

William is sitting with Danny on a grassy bank outside Hazell’s Wood, having just fed the laced raisins to Mr. Hazell’s pheasants. As they watch the sunset together, William says the above quote to Danny, expressing the deep contentment he feels in that moment. Capturing this sentiment is important because it highlights the fact that, although William lives in poverty, he loves his simple life with Danny so much that nothing could tempt him away. This quote is a simple expression of love.

“I was astounded. But I was also rather pleased because now that I knew the great Sergeant Samways was human like the rest of us, perhaps I wouldn’t be so scared of him in the future.”

While William and Charlie discuss who they are giving the pheasants to, Danny overhears them mention Sergeant Samways. This quote captures Danny’s initial reaction (horror that the police officer is involved), followed rapidly by relief that he doesn’t have to be afraid of Sergeant Samways anymore because Samways is “like the rest of us,” the working-class townsfolk who enjoy poaching. Mr. Hazell is left as the only outsider.

“Doc Spencer stood beside [William]. He also was very calm. He was looking at Mr. Hazell rather as one would look at a slug on a leaf of lettuce in the salad.”

Mr. Hazell pulls up at the filling station and charges toward William and Doc Spencer, furious because his birds are there. This quote is Danny describing how Doc Spencer looks at Mr. Hazell in that moment. Mr. Hazell assumes everyone perceives him as superior (since he is the wealthy, upper-class landowner) and would wish to be him. However, this quote shows that Doc Spencer feels the opposite. Doc is disgusted by Mr. Hazell, finding him repellent and that Hazell’s presence spoils an otherwise lovely gathering, much like an unwelcome slug spoils a lovely salad.

“They flew onto my land, and so long as they stay on my land they belong to me. Don’t you know the rules, you bloated old blue faced baboon?”

This quote is William’s retort to Mr. Hazell’s accusation that William stole his pheasants. Two aspects make this quote important: William explains the law regarding game in England, which is critical for the story arc, and William openly insults Mr. Hazell, showing no regard for the hierarchical class structure. Working-class William’s behavior should be deferential to upper-class Mr. Hazell. This interaction depicts a victory for William against Mr. Hazell since Mr. Hazell’s wealth and class can do nothing to change the law.

“They all knew they were going to be shot today if they stayed in your wood, so they flew in here to wait until the shooting was over […] They are extremely intelligent birds, pheasants. Isn’t that so, doctor?”

William is explaining to Mr. Hazell why his birds flew over to the filling station. In this quote, William is gaslighting Mr. Hazell, playing a cruel game that Doc Spencer and Sergeant Samways happily join. Unable to explain how William stole his birds, Mr. Hazell must accept what William and Doc tell him, however ridiculous. The gaslighting works, and Mr. Hazell storms off, scoring another win for the cunning underdog William against the greedy landowner Mr. Hazell.

“To be spoken about like that by the two men I admired most in the world after my father, made me blush and stutter.”

Danny has just been complimented by both Doc Spencer and Sergeant Samways for his “Sleeping Beauty” method, and this quote is his reaction. It is important because it underscores Danny’s humble character. Many nine-year-old boys would be puffed up with pride after having invented a successful new poaching method, but Danny remains modest and humble, thrilled to be included and honored to be recognized by men he admires. In addition, this quote reiterates Danny’s view of his father as the pinnacle of men.

“What a gathering we have here of rogues and varmints! Good morning, Enoch.”

The quote is Mrs. Clipstone, the vicar’s wife, greeting Sergeant Samways as she comes out of William’s caravan with baby Christopher. This quote is notable because the upstanding vicar’s wife jokingly calls William, Doc, and Samways “rogues,” which is exactly what they all are, including Mrs. Clipstone herself. The fact that such an upstanding community member is so comfortable with the deception and theft involved in William’s poaching ruse speaks volumes to the hatred the community feels toward Mr. Hazell. This crime is not only acceptable but also applauded.