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Anathema Device
Newt is a young man who, tired of his boring job as a wages clerk, takes a job with Shadwell and the Witchfinder’s Army (WA). Newt joins the WA because he desperately wants a cause to believe in—his previous attempts to find religion or even a social cause to fight for have all ended with him feeling disillusioned. And to a degree, Newt is disappointed with what life as Witchfinder Private Pulsifer entails, as he spends his weekends poring through daily papers for mentions of witches or unexplainable phenomena. But Newt soon finds that he adores and admires Shadwell, though he finds Shadwell mentally unstable, and so he decides to stick with the WA. When he’s not working for the WA, Newt spends his time working on his beloved Wasabi, a Japanese car that constantly breaks down. On the day that Armageddon (the end of the world) is supposed to take place, Newt convinces Shadwell to let him drive to Tadfield to investigate suspiciously normal weather. This sets off a string of events prophesied by 17th-century witch Agnes Nutter. Newt is the descendent of Witchfinder General Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer, the person who executed Agnes for witchcraft—and in Tadfield, Newt joins forces and falls in love with Agnes’s descendent, Anathema Device. Newt tries to be sensible, so he finds it hard to believe that Agnes foretold his and Anathema’s meeting, as well as Armageddon. He only believes once he learns that Agnes correctly predicted that he and Anathema would have sex before Armageddon. Wanting to impress Anathema, Newt tells her that he’s a computer engineer—but in reality, although Newt loves computers, he’s hopeless when it comes to electronics. His lie comes out at the Lower Tadfield Air Base, when Anathema tasks him with undoing the damage that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse did to the computer systems. Fortunately, though, Newt manages to “break” the systems enough to stop a multinational nuclear war. Following Armageddon, it’s implied that Newt and Anathema will marry, as Newt receives a box from Agnes addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Pulsifer.
Newton “Newt” Pulsifer Quotes in Good Omens
The Good Omens quotes below are all either spoken by Newton “Newt” Pulsifer or refer to Newton “Newt” Pulsifer. 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:
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Friday Quotes
“I thought the churches...” Newt began.
“Pah!” said Shadwell. [...] “Churches? What good did they ever do? They’m just as bad. Same line o’ business, nearly. You can’t trust them to stamp out the Evil One, ‘cos if they did, they’d be out o’ that line o’ business. If yer goin’ up against a tiger, ye don’t want fellow travelers whose idea of huntin’ is tae throw meat at it. Nay, lad. It’s up to us. Against the darkness.”
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Saturday Quotes
“Tye yt well,” she said to the astonished witchfinder. And then, as the villagers sidled toward the pyre, she raised her handsome head in the firelight and said, “Gather ye ryte close, goode people. Come close untyl the fire near scorch ye, for I charge ye that alle must see how thee last true wytch in England dies. For wytch I am, for soe I am judgéd, yette I knoe not what my true Cryme may be. And therefore let myne death be a messuage to the worlde. Gather ye ryte close, I saye, and marke well the fate of alle who meddle with such as theye do notte understande.”
And, apparently, she smiled and looked up at the sky over the village and added, “That goes for you as welle, yowe daft old foole.”
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“You see, it’s not enough to know what the future is. You have to know what it means. Agnes was like someone looking at a huge picture down a tiny little tube. She wrote down what seemed like good advice based on what she understood of the tiny little glimpses.”
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1111. An the Great Hound sharl coom, and the Two Powers sharl watch in Vane, for it Goeth where is its Master, where they Wot Notte, and he sharl name it, True to Ittes Nature, and Hell sharl flee it.
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Newton “Newt” Pulsifer Character Timeline in Good Omens
The timeline below shows where the character Newton “Newt” Pulsifer appears in Good Omens. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Eleven Years Ago
Meanwhile, in a small house in Surrey, 12-year-old Newton Pulsifer is working on changing a plug in an ancient radio. When Newton plugs in...
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Friday
...respected. Now, there’s no Witchfinder General—there’s only a Witchfinder Sergeant and a Witchfinder Private named Newton “Newt” Pulsifer. He was drawn to the Witchfinder Army by an ad in the Gazette...
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Newt sits with a pile of newspapers, thinking that he never would’ve joined the army had...
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Shadwell grandly tells Newt how he was recruited to the army: his cellmate was in prison for burning a...
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When Newt first joined the WA, it didn’t take him long to realize that Shadwell is mentally...
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Newt pushes a pile of clippings toward Shadwell. They all mention unexplainable phenomena, but since disappearing...
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Just after Newt leaves, the phone rings again: it’s Crowley, giving Shadwell the same instructions that Aziraphale did....
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Saturday
Meanwhile, Shadwell confirms that Newt has his supplies, including his bell, book, and candle. Most important is the pin. Then,...
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An hour after leaving the WA, Newt pulls over and tosses several of Shadwell’s items into the bushes. He keeps the military...
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A flying saucer lands right in front of Newt as he tries to find the turnoff for Tadfield. It looks like every cartoon of...
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...at the hole, a head quickly slips back into it. The Them pull the unconscious Newt out of the car and decide to bring him down the road to the Jasmine...
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Anathema steps into Newt’s sight and says that she’s never met a witch-finder before. Embarrassed to tell her that...
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Newt isn’t willing to believe what Anathema is telling him. He looks back at the card...
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...get closer to the end of the world, which will be in about six hours. Newt feels the urge to drink alcohol for the first time, so Anathema pulls out some...
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Relaxing, Newt asks if he told Anathema about the Tibetan. She’s unsurprised—two came out in her front...
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...the hole in the road. Adam says that they should get a medal for rescuing Newt from a blazing wreck, but Pepper reminds Adam that the car wasn’t on fire. Adam...
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While this is going on, Anathema patiently explains to Newt that Agnes didn’t see the future; she was remembering it, albeit poorly. Newt reminds himself...
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Despite the evidence suggesting that what’s happening is real, Newt cannot ignore that he’s sitting with an attractive woman who doesn’t hate him. He suggests...
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Suddenly, the windows of Jasmine Cottage shatter. Newt and Anathema cling to each other, and Newt asks what’s supposed to happen next. Anathema...
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Shadwell, busy bringing the WA books up to date, hears a ping. Newt’s pin is no longer on the map. Muttering, he puts it back in—but it flies...
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...and a crystal ball in the middle of the table. Madame Tracy assures Shadwell that Newt will be fine, and then she tucks him into her bed. Shadwell decides to nap...
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Newt takes the coldest shower of his life, and when he gets out, the sky is...
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As Newt drives the Wasabi toward the air base, Anathema moans that she won’t be able to...
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Newt tells Anathema to pick a card. The card reads, “Behinde the eagle’s neste a grate...
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...they don’t want to be seen. The alarms in the base, however, are trigged. Outside, Newt goes pale.
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The guard on the fence is perplexed by Newt’s identification card. Suddenly, he feels something pressing into his back. Anathema tells him to drop...
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...have “ill-fitting bodies.” Only Death hasn’t changed. As the Four leave the building, Anathema and Newt notice their strange appearance. Anathema and Newt have been hiding in the building since before...
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...heroism. She can’t tell what’s supposed to “take[] its course,” as specified in the prophecy. Newt starts to poke around and snaps that he doesn’t know how to fix this.
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Meanwhile, Newt stares at the electronics. Anathema suggests they consult Agnes’s prophecies, but Newt bitterly points out...
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...and Shadwell to dinner, and Adam tells the Them that it’s time to get home. Newt gently grabs Anathema’s arm as she tries to follow the children. Aziraphale offers his condolences...
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...kill anything. He asks who they’re fighting, and Aziraphale replies that they’re killing the Devil. Newt and Anathema watch the three of them walk forward. Aziraphale and Crowley’s coats split, revealing...
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Sunday (The first day of the rest of their lives.)
Newt wakes on Sunday morning to the sound of the paperboy dropping three stacks of Sunday...
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Newt looks at the leather-bound block on the table: he can only make out a few...
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Mr. Baddicombe lets himself in and puts the box on the table. He tells Newt that everyone at the firm is very interested, and says that someone wanted Newt to...
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Newt suggests that Mr. Baddicombe opens the box, eyeing a saucepan. He edges behind a door...
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