How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She felt as if she would like this thing to be settled one way or the other. "I believe Dickon would. He's always talking about live things. He never talks about dead things or things that are ill. He's always looking up in the sky to watch birds flying—or looking down at the earth to see something growing. He has such round blue eyes and they are so wide open with looking about. And he laughs such a big laugh with his wide mouth—and his cheeks are as red—as red as cherries."
She pulled her stool nearer to the sofa and her expression quite changed at the remembrance of the wide curving mouth and wide open eyes.
"See here," she said. "Don't let us talk about dying; I don't like it. Let us talk about living. Let us talk and talk about Dickon. And then we will look at your pictures." (14.99-101)
Colin is a morbid, death-obsessed little kid, and it obviously has a bad effect on his physical health. But here's another take on Dickon's complete focus on "live things": he's a little boring. That is, in some ways, he's a totally empty character because he is so good and so optimistic. It would be tough to write a book focused on Dickon because there is no plot arc or development possible for such a flat character.
Quote #5
After another week of rain the high arch of blue sky appeared again and the sun which poured down was quite hot. Though there had been no chance to see either the secret garden or Dickon, Mistress Mary had enjoyed herself very much. The week had not seemed long. She had spent hours of every day with Colin in his room, talking about Rajahs or gardens or Dickon and the cottage on the moor. They had looked at the splendid books and pictures and sometimes Mary had read things to Colin, and sometimes he had read a little to her. When he was amused and interested she thought he scarcely looked like an invalid at all, except that his face was so colorless and he was always on the sofa. (15.1)
When Mary first arrives at Misselthwaite Manor, she has a lot of trouble finding things to do. As she develops a sense of curiosity about the Secret Garden and the mysterious boy crying away in his own wing of the house, though, she loses her constant boredom. Here, now that both she and Colin are more checked into the world around them, they can amuse themselves for a whole week inside. In this book, being bored isn't the result of what is actually going on around you; it's more like a symptom of depression and alienation.
Quote #6
"I think [the walled garden] has been left alone so long—that it has grown all into a lovely tangle. I think the roses have climbed and climbed and climbed until they hang from the branches and walls and creep over the ground—almost like a strange gray mist. Some of them have died but many—are alive and when the summer comes there will be curtains and fountains of roses. I think the ground is full of daffodils and snowdrops and lilies and iris working their way out of the dark. Now the spring has begun—perhaps—perhaps—"
[…]And Colin was asleep. (17.61-64)
What do you think of Mary's role change here? She starts off as a spoiled jerk, but she becomes much more human thanks to Dickon and the Secret Garden. In fact, by the middle of the novel, Mary becomes like a little surrogate mom to Colin, telling him bedtime stories about the Secret Garden and even singing him lullabies. Do you think there is a lot of character depth to Mary by the end of the novel? Do you identify with her more at the beginning or the end of the book?