The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

“The guests began wandering back toward the hotel. They were curiously subdued. There was no joking or bantering now, no laughing. Something had happened.”

Although the stories in this collection are designed for an older readership, it is noteworthy that Dahl’s first story centers a child as the tale’s moral compass. Until David’s arrival, no one in the crowd acknowledges the cruel treatment of the turtle. Instead, everyone reacts selfishly. One man pokes the creature, while another attempts to buy it. When they learn that the manager of the hotel has purchased the turtle, they are delighted that they get to eat it. David represents the innocence of a child, and the adults are ashamed when their behavior is juxtaposed with the boy’s compassion for the animal. They leave the beach feeling transformed by the boy’s generosity of spirit.

“‘The secret of life,’ he said, ‘is to become very very good at somethin’ that’s very very ‘ard to do.’”

Impressed with the driver’s skilled trade, The Hitchhiker notes that he has a skilled trade of his own. Examining the story through a biographical lens lends context to this statement. In the essay “Lucky Break: How I Became a Writer,” Dahl instructs his readers that a good writer must be devoted to developing the craft. Dahl admires those who take pride in their work and strive to be the best at it, just like the hitchhiker.

“I never takes nothin’ from a loser. Nor from poor people neither. I only go after them as can afford it, the winners and the rich.”

The hitchhiker’s statement contributes to the theme Greed and Generosity. He states that he never steals from the poor. He sees his position of finger smith as one that enables him to provide equilibrium to society’s balance of wealthy and poor. The irony of his philosophy is that, although he abhors greed, he devotes his life to stealing money and valuables from others.

“His thoughts were only for his wife, his son, his two daughters. His wealth was in his small brick house, his two cows, his tractor, his skill as a plowman.”

Gordon Butcher defines wealth differently than most. Rather than acquiring monetary wealth, he wants only to spend time with his family. When he is away from them, he thinks about when he may return to them once more. He embodies generosity of spirit, defining himself in opposition to greed, underscoring the collection’s discussion of Greed and Generosity.

“He did not know precisely what impulse caused him to stop digging and walk away. He will tell you that the only thing he can remember about those first few seconds was the whiff of danger that came to him from that little patch of greenish blue.”

Butcher and Ford represent opposite sides of the theme of Generosity and Greed. Rather than feeling overjoyed at the discovery of the treasure, Butcher feels a sense of dread that the treasure might undermine the contentedness he feels with his family and current situation. His reaction directly contrasts with Ford’s. When Ford learns of the treasure, he jumps up immediately and asks to see it. As Butcher digs each piece of silver out of the ground, Ford thinks only of how he can convince Butcher to leave the treasure with him and forget about it.

“His mind was concentrated on one thing—how to get possession of this fabulous treasure.”

Throughout “The Mildenhall Treasure,” Dahl presents the characters of Gordon and Ford as foils to one another. In this passage, he juxtaposes the two men after a day of digging. Gordon can think only of returning home to his wife and a fire, while Ford is consumed with his own greed. Although Ford knows that Gordon, a man who has significantly less monetary wealth than Ford, would gain a substantial reward for the discovery of the treasure, Ford lies and hoards the silver for himself, unable to sell it and unwilling to release it.

“‘Shut your mouth,’ the father said. ‘Nobody’s askin’ your opinion.’”

“The Swan” exemplifies the theme of Kindness and Cruelty. In this passage, Ernie receives a rifle from his father for his birthday. Ernie’s father is cruel toward his wife and son. The narrator describes Ernie’s father’s abuse of children after school and his fights at soccer games. Dahl makes an important statement here about the cyclical nature of violence. When one person is unkind toward another, the person who suffered the unkindness is often cruel to someone else.

“Peter Watson was always the enemy. Ernie and Raymond detested him because he was nearly everything that they were not.”

Through the collection, Dahl creates characters that act as foils for one another. In many of his stories, the characters remain static, perfectly exemplifying the character traits that Dahl seeks to explore. In “The Swan,” Dahl examines the hatred of Peter by Ernie and Raymond. Peter contrasts with them in every way. Where they are brutish, Peter is kind. Where they are rough, Peter is gentle. This difference becomes the source of their dislike. Dahl touches on the idea that people often hate that which they do not understand. Because Ernie has always lived in a violent home and experienced cruelty, he has difficulty understanding how someone can always be so meek and forgiving.

“Nobody shoots a bird sitting on its nest. Absolutely nobody!”

In Dahl’s story, the titular swan represents Peter who embodies kindness and innocence in contrast to Ernie and Raymond who embody cruelty and violence. In this passage, Peter tells his two captors that the lake is part of a bird sanctuary and that birds are highly protected. This swan sits on a nest, and Peter is appalled that anyone would consider taking its life. The swan mirrors Peter when the boys find him in the woods. Peter is looking at birds through his binoculars, minding his own business. The same is true of the swan. However, the boys enact violence against both Peter and the swan without prompting. Dahl shows the reader that cruelty does not always need a catalyst. It will always seek out those made vulnerable by an imbalance of power.

“Some people, when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumple and give up. There are others, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable.”

In this section, the third person omniscient narrator explains that Peter is unflappable. This is true throughout the story. Even though Peter is hurt, tired, or scared, he is unwavering in his gentility. In this section, Peter stands on the limb of a tree with two bloody swan wings tied to his arms. He has been shot in the thigh and told to jump from the tree. Still, he sees a light through the branches of the trees and knows that he will be okay. This is The Transformative Power of Magic. Peter’s body is transformed by the magic of his own inner light.

“Henry had never done a day’s work in his life, and his personal motto, which he had invented himself, was this: it is better to incur a mild rebuke than to perform an onerous task.”

At the beginning of the story, Henry Sugar is unremarkable. He and his friends seek only to make money and stave off boredom with games and entertainment. Henry Sugar’s legacy is altered when he sharpens his magical ability through meditation. By the end of the story, Sugar’s life is remarkable. He has impacted countless lives and made a real difference in the world—another example of The Transformative Power of Magic. The trajectory of his life is altered when he engages with magic.

“All of us, you see, have two senses of sight, just as we have two senses of smell and taste and hearing.”

Dahl’s signature use of magic to provide moral instruction underscores the themes of Kindness and Cruelty and Greed and Generosity. In this section, Henry Sugar taps into his own magical ability, something that the narrator in the story suggests all people have. By meditating, Sugar allows his second sense to come forward.

“Henry at this point showed unusual patience and good sense.”

As Henry practices meditation for the first time, he displays the quality of a true conjurer. He quickly learns to concentrate on the candle and erase the other thoughts in his mind. His first encounter with magic transforms him from a lethargic and self-serving individual into a person with purpose and focus.

“Could it be, he wondered, that the yoga powers he had acquired over the last three years had altered him just a little bit?”

When Henry begins his journey of meditation, he thinks only of the magical powers he will obtain and the ways it will help him increase his fortune—He’s not yet aware of The Transformative Power of Magic. When he gambles for the first time with his new ability, he discovers that the magic has changed him, and he is no longer interested in this original goal.

“And because it is a true story, it must have a true ending.”

In this passage, the narrator breaks the third wall and speaks directly to the reader. He suggests several more interesting endings than the one he ultimately provides—that Henry Sugar uses his ability to make money which he promptly gives away. This addition suggests that moral good may not always be the most engaging outcome. A generous Henry Sugar is not as interesting as a morally corrupt version. Dahl suggests that making the right choice is not always the most attractive one.

“You should have a lively imagination.”

In this essay, Dahl provides direct advice to young readers who may be interested in becoming writers. He argues that great writers need strong imaginations. The weight that Dahl places on imagination is exhibited in the wondrous and strange elements that he weaves into his stories.

“Go away and brush your hair properly. And don’t let it happen again or you’ll be sorry.”

Dahl describes his childhood experiences in boarding school. His teachers were extremely cruel and brutalized Dahl and his classmates. Dahl was made to feel that nothing he did was ever good enough. His English reports reveal that his teachers berated his writing ability. As a child, Dahl understood and confronted continual violence and cruelty. This may be why he felt it was so important to give children the opportunity to encounter these elements in the stories they read. Children turn to stories to help them understand the world, and its inherent darkness.

“But just once a week at this school, every Saturday morning, every beautiful and blessed Saturday morning, all the shivering horrors would disappear and for two glorious hours I would experience something that came very close to ecstasy.”

Mrs. O’Connor symbolizes a turn in Dahl’s writing career, providing the first glimmer of kindness he receives from an adult while in boarding school. Although Dahl’s other English teachers criticized his writing, Mrs. O’Connor was helpful and supportive of young minds and developed her students’ love of literature. In the tradition of the hero’s myth, Mrs. O’Connor functions as a mentor who arms Dahl with what he needs to face the challenges ahead. She also exemplifies the theme Kindness and Cruelty, standing in stark contrast to the brutality Dahl experienced at the hands of other teachers.

“This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.”

This note, written on Dahl’s summer term report when he was 16, was penned by his English composition teacher. Dahl’s talent and love for writing was discouraged by many of his teachers, and he left boarding school without any inkling that he would pursue a career in writing in the future.

“First, there is the side he displays to the public, that of an ordinary person like anyone else, a person who does ordinary things and speaks an ordinary language. Second, there is a secret side.”

Dahl proposes that there are two sides to every writer—the public side and the private side. Dahl’s own life was adventurous but challenging. His time during World War II was dangerous and impactful. Yet, he wrote imaginative and whimsical stories for children separate from his personal history. Even in his own life, Dahl experienced The Transformative Power of Magic. He coped with his own personal history by introducing magic into his stories.

“You were meant to give me notes, not a finished story. I’m bowled over. Your piece is marvelous. It is the work of a gifted writer.”

This note, penned by author C. S. Forester, was written after Dahl submitted a story about his experience being shot down by Italian aircraft during World War II. The note juxtaposes the scathing and critical notes written by Dahl’s instructors. While they approached the writing of a young boy with crushing cruelty, Forester encouraged Dahl with respect and admiration.

“Peter said, ‘It’s a piece of cake.’”

This quotation forms the basis for the title and foreshadows the rest of the events in Dahl’s essay. At the beginning of the essay, Dahl emphasizes the need for naivete among the young soldiers. They are aware of the gravity and danger of the battle they are about to face. By making light of it, they feel more capable of doing what they need to do. This simple statement is repeated by Dahl and his friend Peter before one of the most important moments in Dahl’s life. He nearly loses his life and gets a head injury that impacts the trajectory of his future.

“They came nearer and nearer, right up in front of my face so that I saw only the black crosses which stood out brightly against the color of the Messerschmitts and against the blue of the sky.”

In his essay, Dahl interweaves his dreams with the four days he spent in the hospital following the crash. His dreams are full of symbolism. In this passage, he dreams that black crosses are approaching him in the sky, representing the Italian fighter planes that shot down his aircraft. Although Dahl could not remember much about the actual crash, his dreams fill in the details for the reader, revealing his immense fear and the experience of watching death approach.