Fantastic Mr. Fox — Chapter 6

About This Passage

Dahl names the state Boggis, Bunce, and Bean have entered — ‘a sort of madness.’ Watch how three similes in a row (like maniacs, like a dervish) turn the farmers into creatures that can barely be called men. The passage contains six vocabulary words: madness, skinny, dwarfish, maniacs, terrific, and dervish.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 6 in five or six sentences. Begin with the race between Mr Fox’s family and the machines, describe how the hill shrinks across the day, include Mr Fox’s words ‘Keep going, my darlings!’ and the farmers’ shouted threats, and end with the villagers arriving on the edge of the crater and laughing while Boggis, Bunce, and Bean refuse to give up.

Discussion Questions

1. Dahl calls the state of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean ‘a sort of madness.’ Examine the evidence in the chapter. What specific actions and words of the three farmers (driving like maniacs, hopping like a dervish, skipping lunch, yelling ‘I’ll chop him to pieces!’) justify the word ‘madness,’ and why does the author choose that exact word rather than ‘anger’ or ‘stubbornness’?
2. Mr Fox pants ‘Keep going, my darlings! Don’t give up!’ while the sharp shovel scrapes the earth right behind his family. What does Mr Fox’s choice to use the word ‘darlings’ at the most dangerous moment reveal about the kind of father he is?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide