Danny, the Champion of the World

William has no material wealth; the filing station, caravan, and small adjoining meadow are all he owns. However, Dahl imbues the reader with the intense emotional wealth that exists between William and Danny and in their love of their simple life together. The narrative is told from Danny’s perspective, so the loss of his mother when he was just a few months old is told in a matter-of-fact way since, being so young, he has no memory of her. Danny’s world revolves around his father whom he idolizes. The Powerful Bond Between Father and Son is a theme that runs throughout the book and begins with Danny’s appreciation of the baby “chores” that his father took over. The affectionate descriptions of being bathed in a basin and the idyllic depiction of the simple caravan as an “old […] wagon with big wheels and fine patterns” (5) capture Danny’s positive and optimistic outlook on life. To Danny, the rundown caravan is a magical home, and he openly expresses, “I really loved living in that […] caravan” (7). Instead of finding the tiny caravan claustrophobic, Danny loves the intimacy and enjoys cooking, heating, and lighting the caravan the “same way as the [Romani] had done years ago” (6) and seeing everything as an adventure rather than hardship.

When Danny describes his father, he gives an insight into his father’s personality rather than detailing his appearance. Tiny details drawn from years of being so physically and emotionally close are shared. He describes William as an “eye-smiler” (9), with “tiny little golden sparks dancing in the middle of each eye” (9). Danny talks about the intent look that comes over his father as he tells stories and his father’s gentle hands that envelope his own. Danny leaves the reader in no doubt about his feelings: “It is impossible to tell you how much I loved my father” (11).

In these early chapters, Dahl introduces William as a master mechanic; a wonderful, creative storyteller; an endlessly kind and devoted single father; and a humble human being who is content with and appreciates the simple things in life. In summary, a perfect man. Dahl endears William to his audience, ensuring they will root for him throughout the book. These idyllic descriptions also set up the theme of The Gray Area Between Right and Wrong in that they clearly paint William as a good man with little to no animosity in him. This strong impression encourages the reader to be sympathetic and forgiving once William’s enjoyment of illegal activity is revealed and as he and Danny plan and execute what is effectively a crime. Instead of being appalled at deliberate criminal behavior, the reader can laugh along with William and his friends and enjoy the comeuppance of the snooty upper-class man no one likes anyway.