How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
The Kingdom of Didd was ruled by King Derwin. His palace stood high on the top of the mountain. From his balcony, he looked down over the houses of all his subjects—first, over the spires of the noblemen's castles, across the broad roofs of the rich men's mansions, then over the little houses of the townsfolk, to the huts of the farmers far off in the fields. (2)
The King gets to look down on everyone from his balcony, symbolizing his ability to look down on everyone socially. Also, notice how the King's view sets up the social hierarchy of Didd. It's one of those metaphoric contraption thingies.
Quote #2
Far off in the fields, on the edge of a cranberry bog, stood the hut of the Cubbins family. From the small door Bartholomew looked across the huts of the farmers to the houses of the townfolk, then to the rich men's mansions and the noblemen's castles, up to the great towering palace of the King. It was exactly the same view that King Derwin saw from his balcony, but Bartholomew saw it backward. (4)
Bartholomew's position is just like the King's—only backward. We even see this in the picture, since Bartholomew's stance mirrors the King's from the previous page. So both of these blokes are equal but opposite in a total yin yang yinyang type scenario.
Quote #3
"Excellent," agreed the King. "Ho, Guard! Fetch in Sir Snipps, maker of hats for all the fine lords."
Into the Throne Room marched the smallest man, wearing the tallest hat that Bartholomew had ever seen. It was Sir Snipps. Instead of a sword, he wore at his side a large pair of scissors. (57-58)
Sir Snipps sure is trying to compensate for something (if you catch our drift). His height, of course. As a result, Snipps tries to make himself seem uber important even though he's just another guy with a vertical-deficiency problem.
Quote #4
"Pooh!" said Grand Duke Wilfred, looking at Bartholomew's hat and laughing meanly. "That hat won't come off? You stand over there." He pointed to a corner where the wall curved out. "I need a little target practice with my bow and arrow."
When Bartholomew saw that the Grand Duke Wilfred had only a child's bow he didn't feel frightened. He spoke up proudly, "I can shoot with my father's big bow." (79-80)
Bartholomew speaks to Wilfred plainly as he would anyone else. Big mistake. Wilfred sees himself as BC's better thanks to his class standing, and he won't stand for such talk.
Quote #5
"No! You look at me," answered the King. And he put the great hat on right over his crown. Arm in arm, the King and Bartholomew went down to the counting room to count out the gold. (146-147)
Bartholomew gets his 500 gold coins and climbs higher on the social ladder. But he only manages this because he makes the King feel good about himself. Is this an uplifting or depressing ending? We aren't quite sure.