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Dog, the hell-hound that Hell sends to the Antichrist, represents the idea that good and evil aren’t innate, but learned. The Antichrist is supposed to receive the hell-hound on his 11th birthday to protect him and do his bidding. It’s especially important that the Antichrist name the hell-hound himself, as this will give the dog its purpose. When the hell-hound first arrives on Earth, it takes the form of a huge, terrifying dog who looks like the canine incarnation of evil. But when it finds Adam and listens to him talk about the dog he’d like—a small, scrappy mutt that’s highly intelligent and loyal—the hell-hound changes shape to become exactly the kind of dog Adam wants. And when Adam announces that he’s going to name the hell-hound Dog, an important change takes place: the name Dog begins to change the hell-hound’s very nature, making it less of an evil beast from the underworld and more of a domestic dog, like its namesake. Indeed, after receiving his name, Dog thinks that he’s always wanted to jump up on people—but now, surprisingly, he also wants to wag his tail at them.
Dog’s transformation illustrates how significant a being’s upbringing and external influences are in determining whether or not they become good or evil. It makes no difference that Dog came from Hell explicitly to be evil, when Adam just wants a dog who “[he] can have fun with.” Over the course of the novel, as Dog has more delightful and innocent experiences (like chasing rats and cats) and as he follows Adam everywhere, he gradually abandons everything that first marked him as an evil, dangerous creature. Dog thus represents the idea that everything and everyone has the capacity for good, if only they have the right influences.
Dog (The Hell-Hound) Quotes in Good Omens
The Good Omens quotes below all refer to the symbol of Dog (The Hell-Hound). 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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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.
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As the Antichrist, Adam is supposed to receive a hell-hound for his 11th birthday. Though the hell-hound initially seeks out Adam in the form of a massive and terrifying dog, it shrinks in size when it hears Adam say that he wants a small dog. It then accepts its name, Dog—which is supposed to define its purpose in life. When Crowley and Aziraphale discussed the hell-hound prior to this, Crowley remarked that the Antichrist will likely name the dog something like Killer—and that if he does, all is lost. This is because giving the hell-hound an evil name will indicate Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus.
Thursday Quotes
This wasn’t, insofar as the hell-hound had any expectations, what he had imagined life would be like in the last days before Armageddon, but despite himself, he was beginning to enjoy it.
[...]
Form shapes nature. There are certain ways of behavior appropriate to small scruffy dogs which are in fact welded into the genes. You can’t just become small-dog-shaped and hope to stay the same person; a certain intrinsic small-dogness begins to permeate your very Being.
He’d already chased a rat. It had been the most enjoyable experience of his life.
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As Armageddon draws closer, Dog, who joined Adam a day before, is beginning to rethink how he’d like his life to play out. He insists he didn’t have any expectations of what his life was going to be like. This suggests that, as a hell-hound, Dog doesn’t necessarily have free will like the novel’s human, angel, and demon characters do. Instead, he’s at the mercy of Adam’s whims and how Adam wants to shape him. This is why Dog is currently a “small scruffy dog” in the first place—that’s what Adam wanted, so that’s what Dog had to become. In Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam.
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.”
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The morning that Armageddon is supposed to happen, Adam is in an increasingly foul and agitated mood after a night spent reading issues of New Aquarian Digest. This occult magazine introduced him to the idea of “Grass materialism” (gross materialism, presumably), the disappearing rain forests, and the disappearing ozone layer. While Adam’s understanding of these issues is clearly rudimentary, if not entirely wrong, it’s telling that he’s is getting upset about these kinds of things. Unbeknownst to him, Adam is actually the Antichrist (the son of Satan), and it’s his fragile emotional state that ultimately brings on the storm that’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetu
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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Newt is flipping through some of Anathema’s notecards containing Agnes’s prophecies, and he comes across one that none of Anathema’s family members have been able to figure out. But readers, at this point, will be able to figure it out—a testament to the fact that different people will inevitably interpret prophecies differently, depending on the background information they bring to the table. Readers will likely recognize the “Great Hound” as the hell-hound, and the “Two Powers” as Aziraphale and Crowley—after all, they watched in vain as Warlock, whom they believed to be the Antichrist, didn’t receive a hell-hound for his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. S
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...
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As Adam leads the Them to the chalk quarry, telling them about all the things he’s going to do to remake the world better, Dog is beside himself. Dog’s inner monologue shows that despite his origins as a beast of Hell, he’s now become a domesticated pet, plain and simple. He loves chasing rats, he’s thoroughly enjoying his rivalry with the neighbor’s German Shepherd, and he loves his master above all else. He knows that with Armageddon upon them, all of these delights will soon disappear—and after experiencing these things, his life as a hell-hound seems meaningless. Dog’s transformation drives Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimu
“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.
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Adam is becoming increasingly aware of his powers as the Antichrist, and he’s getting excited about all the changes he can make to the world after Armageddon wipes the slate clean. But it’s a transformative moment for Adam when he realizes how much his power is frightening his friends. The “Them” (Adam’s gang) are unable to effectively stand up to Adam or refuse to participate—they are, as he articulates here, totally at his mercy. But even if Adam doesn’t fully understand it at first, he wants friends, not subjects to rule over. Thus, it’s horrifying for him to realize that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Dele
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, he said. SURELY YOUR VERY EXISTENCE REQUIRES THE ENDING OF THE WORLD. IT IS WRITTEN.
“I dunt see why anyone has to go an’ write things like that,” said Adam calmly. “The world is full of all sorts of brilliant stuff and I haven’t found out all about it yet, so I don’t want anyone messing it about or endin’ it before I’ve had a chance to find out about it. So you can all just go away.”
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When Adam confronts Death and the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he refuses to lead them into starting Armageddon (the end of the world). For Death (who speaks in all capital letters with no quotation marks), this is confusing—it’s “written,” after all, that as the Antichrist, Adam is going to lead the Four Horsemen and bring about the end of the world. For Adam, though, what’s been written is essentially just a matter of opinion. He doesn’t like what’s been written about what he’s supposed to do—so he goes into this with the understanding that he can change it and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Si
Sunday Quotes
He couldn’t see why people made such a fuss about people eating their silly old fruit anyway, but life would be a lot less fun if they didn’t. And there never was an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it.
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On Sunday, the day after what was supposed to be Armageddon (the end of the world), Adam sneaks out of his backyard to run around with Dog and steal neighbors’ apples. The apples here are symbolically significant, as they bring the novel full circle. Good Omens began in the aftermath of the biblical Fall, when Adam and Eve ate a forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge, prompting God to expel them from the Garden of Eden. Now, Adam has just been chased away by a farmer for eating apples he’s not supposed to eat—and in this way, he’s replicating Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae
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Dog (The Hell-Hound) Symbol Timeline in Good Omens
The timeline below shows where the symbol Dog (The Hell-Hound) appears in Good Omens. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Eleven Years Ago
...an eyebrow when Crowley sighs that Warlock will hopefully know how to act when the hell-hound arrives on his 11th birthday. Hell is sending him the biggest one they have, and...
(full context)
Wednesday
...looks toward the mountain of presents: he sees a gerbil, but no sign of a hell-hound, which should arrive any minute.
(full context)
...the dove and then turns on the Bentley’s radio to check the status of the hell-hound. A demon’s voice comes through the radio and says that the hell-hound left 10 minutes...
(full context)
Far from Central London, in Tadfield, a terrifying black dog appears in the road. It growls, slavers, and listens until it hears its master’s voice....
(full context)
The children’s conversation meanders and returns to the subject of whether the hound’s master is going to get a dog for his birthday. One girl says with authority...
(full context)
The dog’s master deliberates about what to name it, and the dog waits with bated breath—the name...
(full context)
Thursday
...Pepper’s little sister’s dress in the pond. Now, Adam slouches down the dusty lane with Dog slouching along dutifully. As Adam grumbles about his punishment, Dog thinks that he didn’t expect...
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...and Adam insists that he knows what that means. With the matter settled, Adam tells Dog to follow him inside. Dog refuses, but Adam forces him in. With this, “a little...
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Saturday
The Them sit on a gate, watching Dog roll in cowpats. Adam announces that they have it all wrong about witches—the witches have...
(full context)
...do something about the whales and the forests. Then, in a serious tone, he tells Dog that it’s people like him who are eating all the whales. Something odd is happening...
(full context)
...Adam says in an odd voice that the world should just start again. He pats Dog.
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...she can have Russia, Wensleydale can have America, and Brian can have Africa and Europe. Dog will get Australia, since he needs space to run and chase rabbits. Wensleydale shrieks that...
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...few more cards that mention a male figure dividing the world into four, a “Great Hound” arriving and being named “True to Ittes Nature” while “Two Powers” watch in vain, and...
(full context)
As Adam leads the Them into the quarry, Dog follows with his tail between his legs. He doesn’t think this is right—he just got...
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In the quarry, the Them huddle around Adam, who seems somehow bigger than normal. Dog sits and growls, thinking that he’s going to lose all the great smells that Earth...
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Thunder rumbles overhead, but the quarry is calm—aside from Dog, who’s howling “like a small dog in deep trouble.” Adam says that he has friends...
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Meanwhile, Adam pedals along on his bike as Dog runs excitedly behind. Pepper joins Adam on her own noisy bike, and Brian and Wensleydale...
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...what’s left of the Bentley, the gate starts to rise, and four bikes and a dog zip through. Shaken, Sgt. Deisenburger raises his gun. Aziraphale tells Crowley to deal with this—but...
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Sunday (The first day of the rest of their lives.)
...are waiting on the other side of the hedge. In a stern voice, he tells Dog to stay away from the hedge—if Dog went through it, Adam would have to disobey...
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Adam runs on and catches up with Dog. He looks up at the old apple tree above and climbs it quickly, pocketing as...
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