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The Man
King, a brave and loyal sheepdog, originally lives with the farmer who essentially kidnaps David and forces him into unpaid labor while David is trying to reach Denmark. During David’s captivity on the farm, King and David eventually become friends despite David’s longstanding fear of dogs (due to their use as weapons by the guards in the concentration camp where he grew up). At one point, when the farmer moves to hit David, King jumps between them and growls. The farmer, convinced David has coopted the dog, decides to turn David over to the police immediately, thus fast-tracking David’s escape plan. Though David tells King to stay on the farm when he escapes, King follows David anyway. They hitchhike together across Europe until they accidentally encounter a group of soldiers whom (David believes) serve the same repressive government that ran the concentration camp where he grew up. Though David plans to run for it and be shot rather than return to the camp, King—perhaps due to his innately protective sheepdog instincts—attacks the soldiers while barking loudly, sacrificing his own life to create a diversion that allows David to escape.
King Quotes in I Am David
The I Am David quotes below are all either spoken by King or refer to King. 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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Chapter 8 Quotes
“You can’t do anything about this. I don’t mean to be rude, because I know you’re very strong and You could make those men down there want to walk away for a bit. But they won’t. They don’t know You, You see, and they’re not afraid of You. But they are afraid of the commandant because he’ll have them shot if they leave their posts. So You can see there’s nothing You can do now.”
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Had God of the green pastures and the still waters entered into the dog and made it do it, or had it just done it because it wanted to? Oh, but he never wanted anyone to suffer for his sake . . . and the dog had given its life . . . and he had never been able to do anything for it. So one could get something for nothing after all?
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King Character Timeline in I Am David
The timeline below shows where the character King appears in I Am David. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
After a while, the family’s sheepdog, King, comes into the stable to sleep next to David. At first, David is terrified: in...
(full context)
...and slow at work, which annoys the farmer. Once the farmer almost hits him, but King runs between them and growls. When David realizes that King is shielding him from the...
(full context)
Later, David hears the farmer say that, since David now controls King, they should summon the police to arrest him. David is annoyed: he never seeks to...
(full context)
...spots a faraway figure approaching him. He’s terrified out of his wits—until he realizes it’s King. David feels confident, realizing that King has freely decided to accompany him and that he...
(full context)
Chapter 8
...he has to exchange it for Swiss money at a bank. Though fearful, he does: King eats a lot. Swiss people strike David as rather grim, but Switzerland is so beautiful...
(full context)
David hitchhikes with King through Switzerland to the German border, where he once again takes a detour on foot...
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David and King keep hitchhiking. David’s courteous way of talking to King amuses the drivers, but David, who...
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...be recaptured and sent back to the camp. He begins crying, but when it makes King whine, he forces himself to stop. Instead, he prays. He tells God he knows God...
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David whispers at King to stay still and escape while “they” are distracted by David. But King, a sheepdog...
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David hides in a ditch and, weeping uncontrollably, tells God that God shouldn’t have caused King to sacrifice himself for David’s safety. Then it occurs to David that King, a sheepdog...
(full context)
