How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Sling Blade.
Quote #4
VAUGHAN: You shouldn't say that. You were taught that, weren't you?
Vaughan corrects Karl for saying he's not funny ha-ha but funny queer. However, Vaughan doesn't get personally insulted by Karl's comment. He knows that mentally, Karl is basically a child repeating something he's been told, in this case by another child—although we imagine Frank heard it from Doyle, making it less than innocent.
Quote #5
FRANK: That makes me feel real sad. Couldn't you have done something, Karl? I would have. I wished I'd had him. He'd still be right here, now. Living.
KARL: It makes me sad too. I wish there was something I could have did about it. I don't think nothing bad oughta happen to children. I think all those bad things oughta be saved up for the folks that done growed up, that's the way I see it. Mmhmm. I shouldn't have told you about that. Boy your age ought not to hear such things. It just kind of come out.
Karl is attempting to do for Frank what many fathers try to do for their children: shield them from bad things. But is attempting to protect children from the realities of the world a parenting method that is itself childish?
Quote #6
KARL: You just a boy. You ought not use language like that.
Because he was raised in a Bible-loving household, Karl has a kind of Puritan innocence. He believes that Frank should have a clean mouth until he reaches an age of maturity. But considering some of the things Frank has seen in his young life, isn't he entitled to a swear word or two?