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Nobody “Bod” Owens
Scarlett is Bod’s only living friend throughout his childhood. Five-year-old Scarlett meets Bod when her parents take her to play in the graveyard, but her parents believe that Bod is just Scarlett’s imaginary friend. (Given the improbability of a little boy living alone in a graveyard, Scarlett eventually goes along with this and believes that Bod was a figment of her imagination.) Like Bod, Scarlett is bright and fearless. She longs to experience the graveyard as Bod does, but since she doesn’t have the Freedom of the Graveyard, she can’t slip through walls or see ghosts. When she encounters the Sleer, for instance, she can’t hear his voice and only perceives a frightening hissing noise. Around this time, Scarlett and her family move away, though she returns 10 years later. Her parents have just divorced, and Scarlett resents them for it and for uprooting her life yet again. But Scarlett’s anger and unhappiness begins to soften when she reconnects with Bod and meets Mr. Frost, a nice historian who claims to be conducting research in the graveyard. With Mr. Frost’s help, Scarlett takes on the task of investigating the murders of Bod’s biological parents and sister. She’s caught off guard when Mr. Frost turns out to be Jack, the murderer. When Jack threatens to kill Scarlett, Bod rescues her by imprisoning Jack in the barrow grave. But even though Bod saved her life, Scarlett thinks Bod is a monster for knowingly imprisoning Jack. After this, Silas wipes Scarlett’s memory and convinces Scarlett’s mother to take Scarlett back to Glasgow. Even though this event marked the end of Bod’s and Scarlett’s friendship, it nevertheless taught him a lot about selflessly looking out for one’s friends and thus aided him in his coming-of-age journey.
Scarlett Amber Perkins Quotes in The Graveyard Book
The The Graveyard Book quotes below are all either spoken by Scarlett Amber Perkins or refer to Scarlett Amber Perkins. 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 2 Quotes
“What are you doing now?”
“ABCs,” said Bod. “From the stones. I have to write them down.”
“Can I do it with you?”
For a moment, Bod felt protective—the gravestones were his, weren’t they?—and then he realized how foolish he was being, and he thought that there were things that might be more fun done in the sunlight with a friend. He said, “Yes.”
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“But you aren’t dead, are you, Nobody Owens?”
“’Course not.”
“Well, you can’t stay here all your life. Can you? One day you’ll grow up and then you will have to go and live in the world outside.”
He shook his head. “It’s not safe for me out there.”
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Chapter 7 Quotes
“You want to know your name, boy, before I spill your blood on the stone?”
Bod felt the cold of the knife at his neck. And in that moment, Bod understood. Everything slowed. Everything came into focus. “I know my name,” he said. “I’m Nobody Owens. That’s who I am.”
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“Look, it’s okay. I dealt with them.”
Scarlett took a step away from him. She said, “You aren’t a person. People don’t behave like you. You’re as bad as he was. You’re a monster.”
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Bod said, “She was scared of me.”
“Yes.”
“But why? I saved her life. I’m not a bad person. And I’m just like her. I’m alive too.”
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Scarlett Amber Perkins Character Timeline in The Graveyard Book
The timeline below shows where the character Scarlett Amber Perkins appears in The Graveyard Book. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...bright colors, while Bod is in his usual gray sheet. They introduce themselves and the girl—Scarlett—is sad to learn that Bod doesn’t celebrate birthdays. Scarlett decides that Bod is five, like...
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On sunny days, one of Scarlett’s parents brings her to the graveyard. They sit and read while Scarlett finds Bod. Bod...
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One afternoon, Scarlett asks who’s the oldest person in the graveyard. Bod thinks Caius Pompeius, who came to...
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The next day, Scarlett shares what she learned from her parents: that the people before the Romans buried their...
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Bod can see in the dark, so he takes Scarlett’s hands and guides her down the steps. He describes paintings and carvings in the walls...
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As the Indigo Man howls menacingly, Scarlett apologizes for saying the ghosts are imaginary. Bod, however, says this one isn’t real—Scarlett can’t...
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...of the master.” When Bod points out that the Sleer can only scare him and Scarlett, the Sleer says that fear is its greatest weapon. Noticing a brooch, a cup, and...
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...Silas finds Bod at the amphitheater. Bod says unprompted that it’s all his fault that Scarlett is in trouble. He tells Silas that they went into the barrow grave, but they...
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Chapter 7
Scarlett Amber Perkins is 15 years old and hates everything. She’s hates her parents for divorcing,...
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Scarlett passes the gates and feels a sudden sense of deja vu. She enters the graveyard...
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Scarlett approaches the car but tells the man she doesn’t accept rides from strangers. He offers...
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That night, Scarlett remembers being in the graveyard as a child. When she falls asleep, she dreams she’s...
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Bod has no living friends, though he still remembers Scarlett. He’s disturbed that he didn’t recognize Scarlett right away when he saw her in the...
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...to the chapel for food. When Bod reemerges from the chapel, wondering how to find Scarlett, he sees a young woman on the bench. Bod Fades, but the girl—Scarlett—sees Bod and...
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At Mr. Frost’s house, Scarlett refuses tea and cookies. As they leave Mr. Frost’s tall, narrow house, she offers to...
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In the graveyard that weekend, Scarlett and Bod discuss the murder of Bod’s family. Bod mentions that his guardian is going...
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Scarlett helps Mr. Frost make grave rubbings until midday, and Scarlett asks where she’d research a...
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Scarlett does learn the murdered family’s address, however. She knows the house. After she gets home,...
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On Sunday afternoon, the phone rings in Scarlett’s kitchen. Scarlett’s mother picks up; it’s Mr. Frost. After a minute, she hands the phone...
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...Bod to find his name and goes silent. Bod hurries up the stairs and finds Scarlett waiting outside the barrow. He tells her that he’ll come with her, so she leads...
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Scarlett finally asks Mr. Frost what he found out. Mr. Frost says that oddly, no one...
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...fades, but his name is Jack. He turns around, holding a big knife. From downstairs, Scarlett calls that there’s someone at the door. In the moment that Jack glances away, Bod...
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...are four men on the porch. They ask for Mr. Frost and say they’re friends. Scarlett tells the men that Mr. Frost went to buy a newspaper and excuses herself. She...
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...Jack explains that Bod got away and will be in the graveyard. When Bod and Scarlett get to the graveyard, the gates are locked. Bod tells Scarlett to put her arms...
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The men see a boy with Scarlett. Mr. Nimble boosts Mr. Ketch over the fence and into the graveyard. Ahead of him,...
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...“the most dangerous of all the Jacks” to kill Bod. Now, Jack is tracking down Scarlett. Bod utters three ancient words and opens the ghoul-gate. Mr. Tar and Mr. Nimble fall...
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...Bod closes the ghoul-gate. Fortinbras tugs at Bod’s sleeve—Jack is heading up the hill, toward Scarlett.
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In the graveyard, Jack can’t follow Bod’s scent. He can, however, follow Scarlett’s scent, and he knows that Bod will come for her. As Jack climbs the hill,...
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Bod makes his way down the stairs. He can see Jack holding Scarlett and Fades, but Jack threatens to hurt Bod. Jack asks if Bod knows who he...
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...him the cup, the brooch, and the knife. With the items in hand, Jack tells Scarlett to lie down. She’s certain she’s going to die. Jack tells Bod to kneel on...
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...puts the knife, the goblet, and the brooch back on the altar stone. Aboveground again, Scarlett says that Bod told her the Sleer couldn’t hurt them. When she realizes that Bod...
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Silas takes Scarlett home. After the fact, Scarlett’s mother learns that Mr. Frost had to leave town. Scarlett’s...
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...the fate of the other four Jacks. After a moment of silence, Bod says that Scarlett was scared of him. He doesn’t understand why, since he saved Scarlett’s life and they’re...
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...is grown, but Silas says that Bod isn’t grown up. Finally, Bod asks again why Scarlett was afraid of him. Silas doesn’t answer and leads Bod out of the pizza parlor.
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