--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But he might have had a bang on the…" description: "\"“But he might have had a bang on the head!\" said Joan. \"Poor little boy, he thinks he was a rat!\" \"Hmm,\" said the receptionist, and wrote rodent delusi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png" --- # But he might have had a bang on the head!" said Joan… ![“But he might have had a bang on the head!" said Joan. "Poor little boy, he thinks he was a rat!" "Hmm," said the receptionist, and wrote rodent delusion on a pink slip of paper.” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png) > ““But he might have had a bang on the head!" said Joan. "Poor little boy, he thinks he was a rat!" "Hmm," said the receptionist, and wrote rodent delusion on a pink slip of paper.”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character mislabels a child as a rat, reflecting misunderstanding and dehumanization in bureaucratic judgment. **In simple terms:** Misjudgment dehumanizes people. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions in authority. Themes misunderstanding bureaucracy identity empathy language Mood critical empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace reviews - immigration - health - education Key Concepts labeling power dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure fair assessment? - What checks prevent dehumanizing language? A Different Perspective Labels can be harmful and inaccurate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hospitals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitals/) [Rodents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rodents/) ## Related quotes > [“Miss Strange?” said the receptionist. “The King’s Useless Brother has become bored and will see you early.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/miss-strange-said-the-receptionist-the-king-s-useless-brother-has/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“I don't like rats any more than the next bloke, but they ain't wicked and cruel like people can be. They're just ratty in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-don-t-like-rats-any-more-than-the-next-bloke-but-they-ain-t-wicked/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have a phobia. I have a serious phobia of rodents. I don't even like white mice, hamsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoya-akhtar/i-have-a-phobia-i-have-a-serious-phobia-of-rodents-i-don-t-even-like/) [Zoya Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoya-akhtar/) > [As if to demonstrate, by a striking example, the impossibility of erecting any cerebral barrier between man and the apes, Nature has provided us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/as-if-to-demonstrate-by-a-striking-example-the-impossibility-of/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [You never know when some crazed rodent with cold feet could be running loose in your pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/you-never-know-when-some-crazed-rodent-with-cold-feet-could-be/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A book is a fragile creature. It suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements, clumsy hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-book-is-a-fragile-creature-it-suffers-the-wear-of-time-it-fears-2/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Opening the fridge door, I found a rat eating the cheese. 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He invited the driver of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-workman-cut-to-the-left-still-laying-on-his-horn-and-roared/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I always play these rodent type characters - skittish and hyper like a chipmunk. It's a complete act though. I'm a very normal person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-embry/i-always-play-these-rodent-type-characters-skittish-and-hyper-like-a/) [Ethan Embry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-embry/) > [Every pellet has a story all its own. Every pellet has a story all its own. With its fur and teeth and bones And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/every-pellet-has-a-story-all-its-own-every-pellet-has-a-story-all-its/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. 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Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Delusions quotes > [“From what I can see of humans, you often destroy wonderful things in the pursuit of something that your delusions make you think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-l-davroe/from-what-i-can-see-of-humans-you-often-destroy-wonderful-things-in/) A.L. Davroe > [The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-religions-of-mankind-must-be-classed-among-the-mass-delusions-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Thinking no more about it, he stepped off into that cool space, that fast descent to her, with nothing in his mind but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/thinking-no-more-about-it-he-stepped-off-into-that-cool-space-that/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [Paranoia is a state of heightened awareness. Most people are persecuted beyond their wildest delusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-steiner/paranoia-is-a-state-of-heightened-awareness-most-people-are/) Claude Steiner > [When someone is delusional, there is no point wasting time responding to their delusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtney-kardashian/when-someone-is-delusional-there-is-no-point-wasting-time-responding/) [Kourtney Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtney-kardashian/) > [Through our senses the world appears. Through our reactions we create delusions.Without reactions the world becomes clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/through-our-senses-the-world-appears-through-our-reactions-we-create/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [One of the most persistent of all delusions is the conviction that the source of our dissatisfaction lies outside ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-alan-wallace/one-of-the-most-persistent-of-all-delusions-is-the-conviction-that/) [B. Alan Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-alan-wallace/) > [Doubt is the big machine. It grinds up the delusions of women and men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/doubt-is-the-big-machine-it-grinds-up-the-delusions-of-women-and-men/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [“If you're completely off your rocker and have delusions of grandeur in which your personal existence is of special significance to the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-wolfe/if-you-re-completely-off-your-rocker-and-have-delusions-of-grandeur/) [Edward M. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-wolfe/) > [“In many ways, life is about managing your delusions; keeping the ones that nourish and eliminating the ones that poison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/in-many-ways-life-is-about-managing-your-delusions-keeping-the-ones/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“Fear cripples our minds and breeds delusions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/fear-cripples-our-minds-and-breeds-delusions/) [Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/) > [“Neurotics, proceed with delusions of grandeur. Napoleon Bonaparte, take the lead. Jesus Christ, bring up the rear. Simulate severe depression. Non-communicative with repressed hostility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/neurotics-proceed-with-delusions-of-grandeur-napoleon-bonaparte-take/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“If you're going to have delusions, you might as well go for the really satisfying ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/if-you-re-going-to-have-delusions-you-might-as-well-go-for-the-really/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [The Enlightenment attacked religion - Christianity, mainly - for two reasons: that it was a set of ideological delusions, and that it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/the-enlightenment-attacked-religion-christianity-mainly-for-two/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/respect-the-delicate-ecology-of-your-delusions/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) Browse all 213 Delusions quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But he might have had a bang on the head!\" said Joan. \"Poor little boy, he thinks he was a rat!\" \"Hmm,\" said the receptionist, and wrote rodent delusion on a pink slip of paper.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head-said-joan-poor-little-boy-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Delusions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head-said-joan-poor-little-boy-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/philip-pullman-525_delusions_but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head_752017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But he might have had a bang on the head!\" said Joan. \"Poor little boy, he thinks he was a rat!\" \"Hmm,\" said…” — Philip Pullman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Philip Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But he might have had a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head-said-joan-poor-little-boy-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/but-he-might-have-had-a-bang-on-the-head-said-joan-poor-little-boy-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```