The Graveyard Book

by

Neil Gaiman

Silas is Bod’s guardian. The novel heavily implies that he’s a vampire: he has no reflection in mirrors, he sleeps in a steamer trunk, and he assumes a batlike form when he’s not in his tall, pale, human form. Because he can appear human, he’s tasked with leaving the graveyard to purchase food and clothes for Bod, since Bod’s adoptive parents (Mr. Owens and Mrs. Owens) are ghosts and thus cannot leave the graveyard. Because Silas can leave the graveyard, Silas is able to introduce Bod to the realities of the modern world (most ghosts in the graveyard died almost a century ago, so their knowledge of the outside world is extremely outdated). He briefly allows Bod to attend school in the village and when this ends up being too dangerous for Bod, Silas goes to great lengths to procure books for him and give him the opportunity to experience sporting events and movies. In this way, he proves pivotal to Bod’s coming-of-age process and is one of his most important teachers. Although Silas is stoic and unaffectionate, Bod adores him and loves that Silas is always truthful and seems to have answers for everything. Silas is a member of the Honour Guard, an organization that protects “borderlands” and is responsible for bringing about the end of the Jacks of All Trades. His involvement with the organization takes Silas away from the graveyard for weeks at a time throughout Bod’s childhood. In Bod’s eyes, Silas’s involvement means that Silas is inarguably good. But Silas admits that he was once as evil and monstrous as Jack—though he suggests that people can always change.

Silas Quotes in The Graveyard Book

The The Graveyard Book quotes below are all either spoken by Silas or refer to Silas. 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:
Community, Identity, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“It must be good,” said Silas, “to have somewhere that you belong. Somewhere that’s home.” There was nothing wistful in the way he said this. His voice was drier than deserts, and he said it as if he were simply stating something unarguable. Mrs. Owens did not argue.

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Mrs. Owens
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

Silas said, “Out there, the man who killed your family is, I believe, still looking for you, still intends to kill you.”

Bod shrugged. “So?” he said. “It’s only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.”

“Yes.” Silas hesitated. “They are. And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You’re alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you’re dead, it’s gone. Over.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 179
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

“You were given the Freedom of the Graveyard, after all,” Silas would tell him. “So the Graveyard is taking care of you.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Silas had brought Bod food, true [...] but this was, as far as Bod was concerned, the least of the things that Silas did for him. He gave advice, cool, sensible, and unfailingly correct; he knew more than the graveyard folk did, for his nightly excursions into the world outside meant that he was able to describe a world that was current, not hundreds of years out of date; he was unflappable and dependable, had been there every night of Bod’s life, so the idea of the little chapel without its only inhabitant was one that Bod found difficult to conceive of; most of all, he made Bod feel safe.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens, Silas, Miss Lupescu
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Let’s see, it’s been a while since I’ve been down that way. But I don’t remember anyone particularly evil. Remember, in days gone by you could be hanged for stealing a shilling. And there are always people who find their lives have become so unsupportable they believe the best thing they could do would be to hasten their transition to another plane of existence.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Liza Hempstock/The Witch
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“You’ll do,” he said. “Now you look like you’ve lived outside the graveyard all your life.”

Bod smiled proudly. Then the smile stopped and he looked grave once again. He said, “But you’ll always be here, Silas, won’t you? And I won’t ever have to leave, if I don’t want to?”

“Everything in its season,” said Silas, and he said no more that night.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker)
Page Number: 149-150
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“And the teachers here have taught me lots of things, but I need more. If I’m going to survive out there, one day.”

Silas seemed unimpressed. “Out of the question. Here we can keep you safe. How could we keep you safe, out there? Outside, anything could happen.”

“Yes,” agreed Bod. “That’s the potential thing you were talking about.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:

Bod said nothing. Then he said, “It’s not just the learning stuff. It’s the other stuff. Do you know how nice it is to be in a room filled with people and for all of them to be breathing?”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas, Nick, Mo
Page Number: 193
Explanation and Analysis:

“He’s out here, somewhere, and he wants you dead,” she said. “Him as killed your family. Us in the graveyard, we wants you to stay alive. We wants you to surprise us and disappoint us and impress us and amaze us. Come home, Bod.”

“I think...I said things to Silas. He’ll be angry.”

“If he didn’t care about you, you couldn’t upset him,” was all she said.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Liza Hempstock/The Witch (speaker), Silas, Jack Frost
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:

“You weren’t selfish. You need to be among your own kind. Quite understandable. It’s just harder out there in the world of the living, and we cannot protect you out there as easily. I wanted to keep you perfectly safe,” said Silas. “But there is only one perfectly safe place for your kind and you will not reach it until all your adventures are over and none of them matter any longer.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens
Page Number: 209
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

Mrs. Owens reached out a hand, touched her son’s shoulder. “One day,” she said...and then she hesitated. One day she would not be able to touch him. One day, he would leave them. One day.

Related Characters: Mrs. Owens (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Silas, Jack Frost
Page Number: 217
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Jack Frost (speaker), Scarlett Amber Perkins, Silas, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Owens
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:

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.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Scarlett Amber Perkins, Silas, Jack Frost
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 289
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“Can’t I stay here? In the graveyard?”

“You must not,” said Silas, more gently than Bod could remember him ever saying anything. “All the people here have had their lives, Bod, even if they were short ones. Now it’s your turn. You need to live.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker)
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

“But you did the right thing. I mean, stopping the Jacks. They were terrible. They were monsters.”

[...]

“I have not always done the right thing. When I was younger...I did worse things than Jack. Worse than any of them. I was the monster, then, Bod, and worse than any monster.”

[...]

“But you aren’t that any longer, are you?”

Silas said, “People can change,” and then fell silent.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 303
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Graveyard Book LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Graveyard Book PDF

Silas Quotes in The Graveyard Book

The The Graveyard Book quotes below are all either spoken by Silas or refer to Silas. 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:
Community, Identity, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“It must be good,” said Silas, “to have somewhere that you belong. Somewhere that’s home.” There was nothing wistful in the way he said this. His voice was drier than deserts, and he said it as if he were simply stating something unarguable. Mrs. Owens did not argue.

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Mrs. Owens
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

Silas said, “Out there, the man who killed your family is, I believe, still looking for you, still intends to kill you.”

Bod shrugged. “So?” he said. “It’s only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.”

“Yes.” Silas hesitated. “They are. And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You’re alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you’re dead, it’s gone. Over.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 179
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

“You were given the Freedom of the Graveyard, after all,” Silas would tell him. “So the Graveyard is taking care of you.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Silas had brought Bod food, true [...] but this was, as far as Bod was concerned, the least of the things that Silas did for him. He gave advice, cool, sensible, and unfailingly correct; he knew more than the graveyard folk did, for his nightly excursions into the world outside meant that he was able to describe a world that was current, not hundreds of years out of date; he was unflappable and dependable, had been there every night of Bod’s life, so the idea of the little chapel without its only inhabitant was one that Bod found difficult to conceive of; most of all, he made Bod feel safe.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens, Silas, Miss Lupescu
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Let’s see, it’s been a while since I’ve been down that way. But I don’t remember anyone particularly evil. Remember, in days gone by you could be hanged for stealing a shilling. And there are always people who find their lives have become so unsupportable they believe the best thing they could do would be to hasten their transition to another plane of existence.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Liza Hempstock/The Witch
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“You’ll do,” he said. “Now you look like you’ve lived outside the graveyard all your life.”

Bod smiled proudly. Then the smile stopped and he looked grave once again. He said, “But you’ll always be here, Silas, won’t you? And I won’t ever have to leave, if I don’t want to?”

“Everything in its season,” said Silas, and he said no more that night.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker)
Page Number: 149-150
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“And the teachers here have taught me lots of things, but I need more. If I’m going to survive out there, one day.”

Silas seemed unimpressed. “Out of the question. Here we can keep you safe. How could we keep you safe, out there? Outside, anything could happen.”

“Yes,” agreed Bod. “That’s the potential thing you were talking about.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:

Bod said nothing. Then he said, “It’s not just the learning stuff. It’s the other stuff. Do you know how nice it is to be in a room filled with people and for all of them to be breathing?”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas, Nick, Mo
Page Number: 193
Explanation and Analysis:

“He’s out here, somewhere, and he wants you dead,” she said. “Him as killed your family. Us in the graveyard, we wants you to stay alive. We wants you to surprise us and disappoint us and impress us and amaze us. Come home, Bod.”

“I think...I said things to Silas. He’ll be angry.”

“If he didn’t care about you, you couldn’t upset him,” was all she said.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Liza Hempstock/The Witch (speaker), Silas, Jack Frost
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:

“You weren’t selfish. You need to be among your own kind. Quite understandable. It’s just harder out there in the world of the living, and we cannot protect you out there as easily. I wanted to keep you perfectly safe,” said Silas. “But there is only one perfectly safe place for your kind and you will not reach it until all your adventures are over and none of them matter any longer.”

Related Characters: Silas (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens
Page Number: 209
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

Mrs. Owens reached out a hand, touched her son’s shoulder. “One day,” she said...and then she hesitated. One day she would not be able to touch him. One day, he would leave them. One day.

Related Characters: Mrs. Owens (speaker), Nobody “Bod” Owens, Silas, Jack Frost
Page Number: 217
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Jack Frost (speaker), Scarlett Amber Perkins, Silas, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Owens
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:

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.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Scarlett Amber Perkins, Silas, Jack Frost
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 289
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“Can’t I stay here? In the graveyard?”

“You must not,” said Silas, more gently than Bod could remember him ever saying anything. “All the people here have had their lives, Bod, even if they were short ones. Now it’s your turn. You need to live.”

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker)
Related Symbols: Freedom of the Graveyard
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

“But you did the right thing. I mean, stopping the Jacks. They were terrible. They were monsters.”

[...]

“I have not always done the right thing. When I was younger...I did worse things than Jack. Worse than any of them. I was the monster, then, Bod, and worse than any monster.”

[...]

“But you aren’t that any longer, are you?”

Silas said, “People can change,” and then fell silent.

Related Characters: Nobody “Bod” Owens (speaker), Silas (speaker), Jack Frost
Page Number: 303
Explanation and Analysis: