Danny, the Champion of the World

Danny panics when he wakes up alone the first time, not knowing where his father is. The second time panic is coupled with a sense of dread because he does know where his father is. William and Danny’s relationship is such that a promise is never made lightly and is always kept; therefore, Danny’s correct assessment is that something terrible has happened to his father. Danny’s intelligence and ingenuity are underscored by his logical approach to finding William. Danny calculates how long it will take to run to Hazell’s Wood and, knowing that every second counts, decides that the benefit of taking the car outweighs the risk of him crashing. The mood of the narrative shifts from one of doom to one of nervous excitement after Danny has his “wild and marvelous idea” (52) to take the car. Danny is petrified but also experiences a “glorious feeling of excitement” (54). In the words of a nine-year-old, Danny provides a mature and rational opinion of fear; “Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t” (54). Even so, while in this heightened state of fear, Danny is still able to appreciate the beauty of a fox that runs across the road, describing it as a “thrilling sight” (56), which highlights the integral role nature plays in Danny’s life.

In the woods, Danny experiences overwhelming loneliness, something he has never felt before, and the mood shifts again from one of excitement and fear to one of hopelessness and dread. The way Danny expresses his feelings—“my voice began to go all trembly” (64)—reminds the reader that he is just a child, which adds to the tension of the scene. William’s first words when Danny finds him in the pit are, “‘Hello, my marvelous darling. Thank you for coming’” (65). There is no trace of anger or panic, only love and gratitude toward Danny, reinforcing William’s character as a nice, gentle father and allowing the reader to forget that he is in the pit because he was breaking the law.

William and Danny’s roles are reversed while escaping from the woods. William must rely completely on Danny, which he calmly does. William has raised Danny to believe in himself and to know he is capable of anything he puts his mind to. It is this initiative and determination that helps Danny figure out how to get William out of the pit, physically support him to the car, and then drive them both home.

Doc Spencer, William’s good friend, is introduced as another noble, gentle, lovable character who also loves poaching. Even though Danny is initially “flabbergasted” that Doc Spencer condones poaching, the shock is rapidly replaced with awe at Doc’s own stories that glamorize and romanticize poaching once again. In contrast, the outrage that Doc expresses about the pit that William was caught in is sustained and harsh: “Victor Hazell can’t go digging tiger traps in his woods for human beings! I’ve never heard such a disgusting, monstrous thing in all my life! […] It’s diabolical” (80).

The Gray Area Between Right and Wrong is further underscored when Doc exclaims, “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. We might even break our necks!” (80) while talking about the keeper’s pits. The fact that the pits have been dug to catch criminals who are stealing from Mr. Hazell does not come up. The poachers are working class, “decent folk,” while Mr. Hazell is an upper-class, privileged monster, and the legality of poaching matters less than these ingrained social rules and norms. The two crimes are not comparable in the doctor’s mind since one is a little harmless fun while the other is a tactic that could end in someone’s death. Doc Spencer describes the revenge he took on Mr. Hazell for kicking his dog with great glee (and William approves: “Hooray”) even though everything Doc did (blunting an old needle to cause as much pain as possible) is unethical. Dahl’s extreme and persuasive portrayals of Mr. Hazell as “bad” versus William’s and Doc’s “good” characters ensure that the readers side with the “marvelous little doctor” (83) and feel no sympathy for Mr. Hazell, despite wrongs on both sides.