How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
She still looked like a goblin, but now she looked like a pretty goblin, and Bod didn’t think she would have needed magic to attract Solomon Porritt, not with a smile like that. (4.80)
This passage describes Liza Hempstock, Bod’s friend who was burned alive and then buried on the border of the graveyard. We bring it up here because Liza was barely older than teenaged Bod when her life was cut short, all because Solomon Porritt liked her better than some other girl.
Quote #8
“Well, firstly, I think you’re old enough – what are you, ten years old now? – and normal, living people clothes are wise. You’ll have to wear them one day, so why not pick up the habit right now?” (5.41)
This is the second formal gift Silas gives Bod. Before getting the jeans and sweater from Silas, Bod wears a winding sheet. Oh, and a winding sheet is the cloth you wrap a dead body in before you put it in the coffin. We don’t even want to know where Bod’s came from, when (if ever) it was last washed, or what it smells like. This is kind of like the moment when you grew up and started thinking about fashion. Bod isn't thinking about it quite yet, but we bet he will soon.
Quote #9
“What would you do to keep me here? Kill me?” And he turned on his heel and began to walk down the path that lead to the gates and out of the graveyard. (6.191)
Like a regular kid, Bod disagrees with the grown-ups in his life every once in a while. We can feel Bod’s pain here, but also Silas’s – he’s having a hard time keeping Bod safe, which is the main thing he cares about. Bod’s childhood is limited by his special circumstances, but is it really that much different from the limits regular people have for their kids? We guess it depends on the parents and the kids!