Quotessence
Home / Authors / Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl Quotes

Novelist

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsChildrenBookSaidLittlesWritingReadingThinkingTwitsLong

Famous Roald Dahl Quotes

“Los Gingantes [] no se matan entre sí [] ni los gatos matan a los gatos -matan a los ratones- señaló Sofía, [] los guisantes humanos son los únicos que se matan entre sí. [] Los guisantes humanos se aplastan entre ellos sin cesar , se disparan cañones y montan en aerioplanos para arrojarse bombas en la cabeza. [] ¡Los guisantes humanos no dejan de asesinar a otros guisantes humanos! [] (Sofía) empezaba a preguntarse si los humanos eran mejores que los gigantes.”

KidsHuman NatureGiantsBfg
Book:The BFG
Create image

“Personally, I mistrust all handsome men. The superficial pleasures of this life come too easily to them, and they seem to walk the world as though they themselves were personally responsible for their own good looks. I don't mind a woman being pretty. That's different. But in a man, I'm sorry, but somehow or other I find it downright offensive.”

MenWomenConfidenceGenderAttractivenessHandsomenessGood Looks
Book:Skin and Other Stories
Create image

“England once there lived a big And wonderfully clever pig. To everybody it was plain That Piggy had a massive brain. He worked out sums inside his head, There was no book he hadn't read. He knew what made an airplane fly, He knew how engines worked and why. He knew all this, but in the end One question drove him round the bend: He simply couldn't puzzle out What LIFE was really all about. What was the reason for his birth? Why was he placed upon this earth? His giant brain went round and round. Alas, no answer could be found. Till suddenly one wondrous night. All in a flash he saw the light. He jumped up like a ballet dancer And yelled, "By gum, I've got the answer!" "They want my bacon slice by slice "To sell at a tremendous price! "They want my tender juicy chops "To put in all the butcher's shops! "They want my pork to make a roast "And that's the part'll cost the most! "They want my sausages in strings! "They even want my chitterlings! "The butcher's shop! The carving knife! "That is the reason for my life!" Such thoughts as these are not designed To give a pig great piece of mind. Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland, A pail of pigswill in his hand, And piggy with a mighty roar, Bashes the farmer to the floor… Now comes the rather grizzly bit So let's not make too much of it, Except that you must understand That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland, He ate him up from head to toe, Chewing the pieces nice and slow. It took an hour to reach the feet, Because there was so much to eat, And when he finished, Pig, of course, Felt absolutely no remorse. Slowly he scratched his brainy head And with a little smile he said, "I had a fairly powerful hunch "That he might have me for his lunch. "And so, because I feared the worst, "I thought I'd better eat him first.”

HumourThe Pig
Author:Roald Dahl
Create image

“A rotten nut, a reeky pear, A thing the cat left on the stair, And lots of other things as well, Each with a rather horrid smell. These are Veruca's new found friends That she will meet as she descends, And this is the price she has to pay For going so very far astray. But now, my dears, we think you might Be wondering-is it really right That every single bit of blame And all the scolding and the shame Should fall upon Veruca Salt? Is she the only one at fault? For though she's spoiled, and dreadfully so, A girl can't spoil herself, you know. Who spoiled her, then? Ah, who indeed? Who pandered to her every need? Who turned her into such a brat? Who are the culprits? Who did that? Alas! You needn't look so far To find out who these sinners are. They are (and this is very sad) Her loving parents, Mum and Dad. And that is why we're glad they fell Into the garbage chute as well.”

DisciplineConsequencesBad ParentingSpoiling Children
Book:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Create image

“There's no earthly way of knowing Which direction we are going There's no knowing where we're rowing Or which way the river's flowing Is it raining, is it snowing? Is a hurricane a-blowing? - uh! Not a speck of light is showing So the danger must be growing Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? Yes! The danger must be growing For the rowers keep on rowing And they're certainly not showing Any signs that they are slowing! A-aa-aaa-aaaah!”

Willy Wonka
Book:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Create image

“When you're writing a book, it's rather like going on a very long walk, across valleys and mountains and things, and you get the first view of what you see and you write it down. Then you walk a bit further, maybe up onto the top of a hill, and you see something else. Then you write that and you go on like that, day after day, getting different views of the same landscape really. The highest mountain on the walk is obviously the end of the book, because it's got to be the best view of all, when everything comes together and you can look back and see that everything you've done all ties up. But it's a very, very long, slow process.”

On Writing A Book
Author:Roald Dahl
Create image

“They streaked past a black door. STOREROOM NUMBER 71, it said on it. WHIPS - ALL SHAPES AN SIZES. "Whips!' cried Veruca Salt. "What on earth do you use whips for?" "For whipping cream of course," said Wonka. "How can you whip cream without whips? Whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all unless it's been whipped with whips. Just as a poached egg isn't a poached egg unless it's been stolen from the woods in the dead of night! Row on please!”

WhipsWhipped Cream
Book:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Create image

“And then?" I said. "Then we shall go through the records and get the names and addresses of all the witches in the whole wide world!" "And after that?" I said, quivering with excitement. "After that, my darling, the greatest task of all will begin for you and me! We shall pack our bags and go travelling all over the world! In every country we visit, we shall seek out the houses where the witches are living! We shall find each house, one by one, and having found it, you will creep inside and leave your little drops of deadly Mouse-Maker in the bread, or the cornflakes, or the rice-pudding or whatever food you see lying about. It will be a triumph, my darling! A colossal unbeatable triumph. We shall do it entirely by ourselves, just you and me! That will be our work for the rest of our lives!" My grandmother picked me up off the table and kissed me on the nose. "Oh, my goodness me, we're going to be busy these next few weeks and months and years!" she cried. "I think we are," I said. "But what fun and excitement it's going to be!" "You can say that again!" my grandmother cried, giving me another kiss. "I can't wait to get started!”

LifeInspirationalPurposeTimeMeaningMortalityBeginningLifes Work
Book:The Witches
Create image