Good Omens

by

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Good Omens makes teaching easy.

Brian Character Analysis

Brian, along with Pepper and Wensleydale, is one of the members of the Them, Adam Young’s gang of 11-year-olds. He’s good-natured but is consistently dirty, and he seems to shed potato chip wrappers wherever he goes. Brian is fond of ideas that seem interesting to him, no matter how far-fetched they might seem to others. He also adores comic books with lots of explosions in them. As the grimiest member of the Them, Brian corresponds to Pollution, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He destroys Pollution when Adam and the Them confront the Four Horsemen during Armageddon (the end of the world).

Brian Quotes in Good Omens

The Good Omens quotes below are all either spoken by Brian or refer to Brian. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Good and Evil Theme Icon
).
Wednesday Quotes

“I’ll call him Dog,” said his master, positively. “It saves a lot of trouble, a name like that.”

The hell-hound paused. Deep in its diabolical canine brain it knew that something was wrong, but it was nothing if not obedient and its great sudden love of its master overcame all misgivings. Who was to say what size it should be, anyway?

It trotted down the slope to meet its destiny.

Strange, though. It had always wanted to jump up at people but, now, it realized that against all expectation it wanted to wag its tail at the same time.

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Agnes Nutter, Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Saturday Quotes

“You don’t have to be so lit’ral about everything,” he said. “That’s the trouble these days. Grass materialism. ‘S people like you who go round choppin’ down rain forests and makin’ holes in the ozone layer. There’s a great big hole in the ozone layer ‘cos of grass materialism people like you.”

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 190
Explanation and Analysis:

Dog slunk along with his tail between his legs, whining.

This wasn’t right, he was thinking. Just when I was getting the hang of rats. Just when I’d nearly sorted out that bloody German Shepherd across the road. Now He’s going to end it all and I’ll back with the ole glowin’ eyes and chasin’ lost souls. What’s the sense in that? They don’t fight back, and there’s no taste to ‘em...

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 211
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, if that’s all that’s worryin’ you, don’t you worry,” said Adam airily, “’cos I could make you all just do whatever I wanted—”

He stopped, his ears listening in horror to the words his mouth was speaking. The Them were backing away.

[...]

“No,” he said hoarsely. “No. Come back! I command you!”

They froze in mid-dash.

Adam stared.

“No, I dint mean it—” he began. “You’re my friends—”

[...]

Adam opened his mouth and screamed. It was a sound that a merely mortal throat should not have been able to utter [...]

Whatever had been standing in the old quarry before, Adam Young was standing there now. A more knowledgeable Adam Young, but Adam Young nevertheless. Possibly more of Adam Young than there had ever been before.

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 286-87
Explanation and Analysis:

“What you’re all sayin’,” he summed up, [...] “is that it wouldn’t be any good at all if the Greasy Johnsonites beat the Them or the other way round?”

“That’s right,” said Pepper. [...] “Everyone needs a Greasy Johnson.”

“Yeah,” said Adam. “That’s what I thought. It’s no good anyone winning.”

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Pepper (speaker), Aziraphale, Crowley/Crawly, Wensleydale, Brian, Greasy Johnson
Page Number: 292
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Good Omens LitChart as a printable PDF.
Good Omens PDF

Brian Quotes in Good Omens

The Good Omens quotes below are all either spoken by Brian or refer to Brian. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Good and Evil Theme Icon
).
Wednesday Quotes

“I’ll call him Dog,” said his master, positively. “It saves a lot of trouble, a name like that.”

The hell-hound paused. Deep in its diabolical canine brain it knew that something was wrong, but it was nothing if not obedient and its great sudden love of its master overcame all misgivings. Who was to say what size it should be, anyway?

It trotted down the slope to meet its destiny.

Strange, though. It had always wanted to jump up at people but, now, it realized that against all expectation it wanted to wag its tail at the same time.

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Agnes Nutter, Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Saturday Quotes

“You don’t have to be so lit’ral about everything,” he said. “That’s the trouble these days. Grass materialism. ‘S people like you who go round choppin’ down rain forests and makin’ holes in the ozone layer. There’s a great big hole in the ozone layer ‘cos of grass materialism people like you.”

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 190
Explanation and Analysis:

Dog slunk along with his tail between his legs, whining.

This wasn’t right, he was thinking. Just when I was getting the hang of rats. Just when I’d nearly sorted out that bloody German Shepherd across the road. Now He’s going to end it all and I’ll back with the ole glowin’ eyes and chasin’ lost souls. What’s the sense in that? They don’t fight back, and there’s no taste to ‘em...

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 211
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, if that’s all that’s worryin’ you, don’t you worry,” said Adam airily, “’cos I could make you all just do whatever I wanted—”

He stopped, his ears listening in horror to the words his mouth was speaking. The Them were backing away.

[...]

“No,” he said hoarsely. “No. Come back! I command you!”

They froze in mid-dash.

Adam stared.

“No, I dint mean it—” he began. “You’re my friends—”

[...]

Adam opened his mouth and screamed. It was a sound that a merely mortal throat should not have been able to utter [...]

Whatever had been standing in the old quarry before, Adam Young was standing there now. A more knowledgeable Adam Young, but Adam Young nevertheless. Possibly more of Adam Young than there had ever been before.

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian
Related Symbols: Dog (The Hell-Hound)
Page Number: 286-87
Explanation and Analysis:

“What you’re all sayin’,” he summed up, [...] “is that it wouldn’t be any good at all if the Greasy Johnsonites beat the Them or the other way round?”

“That’s right,” said Pepper. [...] “Everyone needs a Greasy Johnson.”

“Yeah,” said Adam. “That’s what I thought. It’s no good anyone winning.”

Related Characters: Adam Young/The Antichrist (speaker), Pepper (speaker), Aziraphale, Crowley/Crawly, Wensleydale, Brian, Greasy Johnson
Page Number: 292
Explanation and Analysis: