History Literature / DannyTheChampionOfTheWorld

* ChildrenAsPawns: A woman named Mrs. Clipstone smuggles the knocked-out, stolen pheasants ready to be killed in a baby carriage under her baby son's mattress to avoid suspicion.

* EarlyBirdCameo: Danny's father tells him about Literature/TheBFG. It's interesting to see the illustration in the first edition, which shows the BFG as a much darker and more intimidating figure - though still ultimately a force for good - and contrast it with the now prevailing picture of the BFG derived from Quentin Blake and the AnimatedAdaptation.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Charles Tallon, the representative of the building corporation that is making a deal with Hazell to [[spoiler: build a new town on his estate]]. This would likely make his company a lot of money, but it's clear from their meeting that he doesn't like Hazell any more than anyone else does, disapproves of what he's planning, and would prefer to have nothing to do with it. When he learns that Hazell lied about having bought Mr. Smith's land -- a clear violation of their contract -- and that Mr. Smith has no intention of selling, it's clearly with no small degree of satisfaction that he tells the man the deal's off, before cheerfully revealing the whole scheme to the locals and that the Smiths have "saved the day".

* TheGreatHunt: Mr. Hazell spends a fortune on pheasants to host an annual hunt for the upper crust, who are apparently happy to take advantage of his hospitality but secretly despise him. Danny and his father conspire to ruin the hunt and [[spoiler:succeed in making a fool of him]].

* SocialClimber: Mr. Hazell is a crude, cruel thug who happens to be very rich. He's happy to spend a fortune on his annual [[TheGreatHunt pheasant hunts]] because they're attended by the nobility and OldMoney, all of whom secretly despise him.

--> He had said "I promise I'll be back by ten-thirty." Those were his exact words. And he never, absolutely never, broke a promise.

--> '''Sergeant Samways''': Drive on, Mr 'Azell, sir. Hignore them pheasants, Mr 'Azell, and haccelerate that hengine!

---> Captain Lancaster's finger shot out like a bullet and pointed at my face.

* HaveAGayOldTime: Danny's father says "Kindly do not molest us" to a keeper who tries to make them leave a public footpath.

--> '''Danny:''' But two hundred raisins aren't going to get you two hundred pheasants.
--> '''Danny's father:''' Why not?
--> '''Danny:''' Because the greediest birds are going to gobble up about ten raisins each.
--> '''Danny's father:''' You've got a point there.

--> '''Danny:''' You mean ''stealing'' them?
--> '''Danny's father:''' We don't look at it that way. Poaching is an art. A great poacher is a great artist.

--> '''Danny''': They can't do that! They could go to prison for shooting someone.
--> '''Danny's father''': (cheerfully) You could go to prison for poaching.

%%* RoguishPoacher: Danny's father.

--> '''Danny's father:''' Poaching is the greatest game of hide and seek in the world.
--> '''Danny:''' You mean because they've got guns?
--> '''Danny's father:''' Well, that does add a bit of flavour to it, yes.

--> "What are we playing?" my father said. "Twenty Questions?"
--> The keeper spat out a big gob of spit which went sailing through the air and landed close to my father's plaster foot. It looked like a little baby oyster lying there.

--> '''Danny:''' What do we do now?
--> '''Danny's father:''' We sit here and we wait.

--> "All my finest birds are on this dirty little filling station when they ought to be in my woods getting ready for the shoot!" The words poured out of Mr Hazell's mouth like hot lava from an erupting volcano.
--> "Am I correct," said Sergeant Samways, "am I habsolutely haccurate in thinking that today is the day of your great shootin' party, Mr 'Azell?"
--> "That's the whole point!" cried Mr Hazell, stabbing his forefinger into the sergeant's chest as though he were punching a typewriter or an adding machine. "And if I don't get these birds back on my land quick sharp, some very important people are going to be extremely angry this morning. And I'll have you know that one of my guests is none other than your own boss, the Chief Constable of the County! So you had better do something about it fast, hadn't you, unless you want to lose those Sergeant's stripes of yours?"

* InjuredLimbEpisode: During one of the pheasant-poaching trips, Danny's dad ends up with a wonky leg.

* InformedPoverty: Danny and his father live in an ancient gipsy caravan, can’t afford a car, and a BathOfPoverty is described. They are not stated to be "poor", but are sometimes perceived as such by others, notably by a keeper who says "you live in that filthy old caravan, right?", and by Mr Hazell who sends inspectors round to try to get them off their land. Danny never invites anybody from school to where he lives, saying in the narrative that he has such a good time being alone with his father; although it’s possible (and not explicitly stated) that he would rather they didn’t see his home setting. Danny's father mentions that "times were hard for a lot of people when I was a boy", and many families were poor, justifying some of them poaching pheasants from the rich man's wood, and possibly justifying Danny's father being comfortable with a very basic lifestyle. That said, Danny's father mentions buying an electric oven and freezer in a tone that implies it would be a significant but not insurmountable expense, so...

* DidntThinkThisThrough: The titular Champion of the World and his father did not anticipate that the sleeping pills would wear off the morning after the pheasants took them. Also, on his very first attempt at poaching, Danny's father does not arrive at the wood until after the pheasants have gone up to roost.

* AdaptationExpansion: Dahl wrote an earlier short story, simply titled ''The Champion of the World'', which has a pair of adult protagonists and covers the events from the inception of the sleeping pill method to the pheasants awaking in the baby carriage. The book changes the story to one about a boy and his father and expands the plot, while featuring most of the same names and details. It also ends rather more happily than the short story did.

* AdaptationExpansion: Dahl wrote an earlier short story, simply titled ''The Champion of the World'', which has a pair of adult protagonists and covers the events from the inception of the sleeping pill method to the pheasants awaking in the baby carriage. The book changes the story to one about a boy and his father and expands the plot, while featuring most of the same names and details.

* InformedPoverty: Danny and his father live in an ancient gipsy caravan, can’t afford a car, and a BathOfPoverty is described. They are not stated to be "poor", but are sometimes perceived as such by others, notably by a keeper who says "you live in that filthy old caravan, right?", and by Mr Hazell who sends inspectors round to try to get them off their land. Danny never invites anybody from school to where he lives, saying in the narrative that he has such a good time being alone with his father; although it’s possible (and not explicitly stated) that he would rather they didn’t see his home setting. Danny's father mentions that "times were hard for a lot of people when I was a boy", and many families were poor, justifying some of them poaching pheasants from the rich man's wood, and possibly justifying Danny's father being comfortable with a very basic lifestyle.