How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
When Pippi was sitting on the edge of the bed, taking off her shoes, she looked at them thoughtfully and said, "He was going out rowing, he said, that old Bengt." She snorted disdainfully. "I'll teach him to row, indeed I will. Another time." (2.71)
See that? We always want to believe that Pippi is indestructible, that nothing bothers her. She got the best of Bengt and his band of bullies, and everything turned out fine. Case closed. Except that this statement shows that the altercation is still on her mind when she crawls into bed later. And she still seems upset. So maybe Pippi does get bothered once in a while. And maybe it would be nice for her to have someone to sing her to sleep on those occasions so she didn't have to do it herself.
Quote #5
Then the teacher said she understood and didn't feel annoyed with Pippi any longer, and maybe Pippi could come back to school when she was a little older. Pippi positively beamed with delight. (4.57)
Pippi beams with delight because someone has finally offered her a little bit of acceptance and a place where she might one day fit in. Sure Tommy and Annika are good friends, but remember: they fit in at school and at coffee parties and circuses. People don't chastise them for behaving badly or suggest they don't belong—things that happen to Pippi on a fairly regular basis.
Quote #6
Then they heard the "ding-dong" that meant the bell was ringing for dinner at Tommy's and Annika's house.
"Oh bother!" said Tommy. "Now we've got to go home." (5.74-75)
Ask not for whom the bell ding-dongs; it ding-dongs for Tommy and Annika. But not for Pippi. Okay, the dinner bell is a little weird since they're next door, but it's apparently the Swedish equivalent to having your mom stick her head out the window and yell for you. Which no one ever does for Pippi. Tommy and Annika have a family to go home to. Pippi has pets to feed. And she has to feed herself, too. (We're guessing there isn't any good Thai takeout near Villa Villekulla.)