37 pages • 1 hour read
Roald Dahl, Illustr. Quentin BlakeThe Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1985A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Gardens
Extensive gardens surround Hampshire House, and much of the story’s action takes place there. Billy and the Pelican first demonstrate the animals’ usefulness by harvesting the best fruit from the tops of the Duke’s cherry trees. The Pelican also brings the captured burglar to the grounds, where, after a struggle with the police, the burglar gives up the Duchess’s stolen jewels. The Duke rewards the animals by inviting them to live at the gardens, which happen to provide exactly the foods they need: tinkle-tinkle flowers for the Giraffe, nuts for the Monkey, and the River Hamp with salmon to satisfy the Pelican. The gardens are an Eden for the deserving creatures, who, in turn, assist the Duke with his harvests. It’s a place made by humans, but enhanced by the cooperative friendship of the three animals.
The Grubber
The Grubber is the name of an old, abandoned candy store that Billy wants to renovate and reopen. He tells readers that “in the olden days a grubber was another name for a sweets shop” (7), and he would love to own one, especially if it sells candies from all over the world. The shop is purchased by the three animals, who remodel the building into their home office, adding a two-story door so the Giraffe can enter and leave. This door so intrigues Billy that he meets the three animals, and their window-washing adventure gets underway.
Billy eventually gets his wish: The animals donate the candy-store building, and the Duke has it renovated and restocked as a sweets shop. All three floors are stacked to the ceiling with candies. The store thus begins as the source of Billy’s new friendships and adventures, and ends up an attainable dream. It’s a place where fun-loving imagination takes something old and neglected and transforms it into a location for friendship and happy times. Its rebirth is a physical representation, firstly of the animals’ drive to succeed, and later of Billy’s fanciful mind and heart.
Hampshire House
Hampshire House is the gigantic mansion of England’s wealthiest person, the Duke of Hampshire. Impressive and expensive, the building has 677 windows, most of which haven’t been washed in 40 years. In other words, it’s the perfect job for the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company. For all its stately glory, the house proves vulnerable, both to window grime and burglaries—but the animals demonstrate that they can handle both problems with ease. Like the Duke himself, the house presents itself as intimidating but seems to welcome those who care for it.
Jewels
The Duchess of Hampshire owns a large set of expensive diamond jewelry. The highly prized baubles attract the interest of the Cobra, the world’s most famous thief, and he tries to steal them. The three animals foil his plans, but not before the Duchess has a tizzy about losing her precious diamonds. The jewels serve as a plot device that gives the animals a chance to show off their skills and gain the gratitude of the Duke and Duchess. The costly ornaments afford the Duchess an opportunity to behave with comedic dramatics. They also point to the somewhat misplaced values of many wealthy people: The real treasures of the story are the boy and animals, whose abilities, warm hearts, and dedication help to retrieve the jewelry.
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