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Hans’s Garden
The Miller offers Hans a broken wheelbarrow as a token of their friendship, which comes to represent the broken friendship between the two men. The Miller declares, “Hans […] I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is not in very good repair, indeed, one side is gone, and there is something wrong with the wheel-spokes, but in spite of that I will give it to you.” The Miller then proceeds to selfishly take a plank of wood from Hans to mend his own barn-roof, the very plank that Hans would need to repair the broken wheelbarrow. Throughout the story, the Miller speaks of offering his wheelbarrow and his friendship to Hans but never acts on these offers: the wheelbarrow never manifests in the fairytale, and the Miller never shows Hans any genuine devotion. The broken wheelbarrow and the Miller’s exploitation of Hans also serve as an ironic counterpoint to the Miller’s lofty words about generosity and friendship.
The Broken Wheelbarrow Quotes in The Devoted Friend
The The Devoted Friend quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Broken Wheelbarrow. 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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The Devoted Friend
Quotes
“‘Hans,’ said the Miller, ‘I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is not in very good repair, indeed, one side is gone, and there is something wrong with the wheel-spokes, but in spite of that I will give it to you. I know it is very generous of me, and a great many people would think me extremely foolish for parting with it, but I am not like the rest of the world. I think that generosity is the essence of friendship, and, besides, I have got a new wheelbarrow for myself. Yes, you may set your mind at ease, I will give you my wheelbarrow.’”
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The Broken Wheelbarrow Symbol Timeline in The Devoted Friend
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Broken Wheelbarrow appears in The Devoted Friend. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Devoted Friend
...“friendship never forgets.” Hans tells the Miller he had to sell many possessions, including a wheelbarrow, in order to have money for food during the wintertime. He now has to buy...
(full context)
...Miller accuses him of being “unfriendly,” especially as the Miller is to give him a wheelbarrow. Hans is horrified by this accusation and immediately takes the sack of flour to the...
(full context)
...the chief mourner, the Miller laments that he has no one to give his broken wheelbarrow now that Hans is dead, and that he wouldn’t get a cent for it if...
(full context)
