Ginger, of course, wants to get violent,
while Algy is more cautious:
“’Are you suggesting that we start something that may end in total war?’ inquired Algy cynically. ‘Have a heart!’
‘We might as well go out with a bang as sit here and be shot to bits when these stiffs find us, because that’s what’s going to happen,’ argued Ginger.
…
[Algy returned coldly,] ‘I don’t want my name to go down in history as the man who started the Third World War.’
‘The only thing your name will go down on, if we stand here nattering much longer, is a tombstone,’ replied Ginger firmly.”
--Biggles Cuts It Fine
Give Ginger his due that was a smart retort to Algy's natural reluctance to open hostilities. This shows both Algy and Ginger at their best. Algy, for once, cautious and fully aware of his responsibilities and Ginger, at the same time, seeing the other side of the coin.
ReplyDeleteSince when did Algy start having a natural reluctance to opening hostilities? This is the man who once shot up someone else's lettuces!
ReplyDeleteAnd Ginger is just plain rude to poor Algy :(
Sometimes I wonder how Algy restrains himself from landing Ginger a sharp clip on the ear - he seems to receive far more cheek from that direction than Biggles does. (Just look at the begining of 'Biggles Married' II)!
ReplyDeleteI can only think it is Algy's own wonderfully generous easy-going nature which prevents him from turning to violence.....
By natural reluctance I was referring to him not wanting to be the one to start the Third World War. And the banter between Algy and Ginger is delightful. It reminds me of sibling rivalry when the younger one is trying to get the better of his older brother! And, JJ I think you're right about Algy's easy-going nature- that is probably the only reason why Ginger hasn't received a thick ear yet.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll write a fic where Ginger gets his thick ear. I find it annoying how much he gets away with when he's rude to Algy. He's never as rude to Biggles (except for that one time where he mocks Biggles, "You only THOUGHT you saw an aeroplane.")
ReplyDeleteWasn't that because Biggles tried to convince Ginger he thought he'd only seen a submarine?
ReplyDeleteSopwith, you must admit that there are plenty of times when Algy is rude to Ginger (and to Biggles as well!)
ReplyDeleteSopwith said: Since when did Algy start having a natural reluctance to opening hostilities? This is the man who once shot up someone else's lettuces!
ReplyDeleteBut Algy did not start that, someone else shot up his sunflowers!
Algy can do nothing wrong in my eyes...
ReplyDeleteThat aside, Ginger is just a little kid who has absolutely NO respect for his elders and betters! I find it less annoying when Biggles and Algy are rude to him (which they aren't very often, just sometimes), because they're basically his guardians and parents. Ginger is too lippy for his own good...
Sounds just like my kids! The lippy bit, that is. We've had some adventures in our family but not quite on Biggles scale.
ReplyDeleteIf you did have any Biggles scale adventures, I'd be worried!
ReplyDeleteOne or two hairy moments, maybe, between us, but no, not on Biggles scale, definitely not. They're best indulged in in an armchair
ReplyDeleteHave your kids ever been as lippy to you as Ginger has to Algy? And if yes, did they get a sharp clip over the ear? (As I keep hoping Algy will give Ginger...?)
ReplyDeleteThe answer is yes, and yes. Mainly with me. though. Not so much with their Dad. But they did grow out of it although traces of sarcasm still creep in now and again.
ReplyDeleteI've made up my mind. Ginger is going to get a clip on the ear, at some point, in some fanfic. He needs to know how rude he is.
ReplyDeleteIt's all those American gangster movies he used to watch - definitely a bad influence!
ReplyDeleteDidn't he stop watching them after he met Biggles? I notice his "Americanisms" stopped after one or two books.
ReplyDeleteBiggles cracked down on him.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for Ginger. In Black Peril he gets positive reinforcement for his behaviour - " the lad's stange, but inoffensive air of familiarity and self-assurance, combined with his occasional lapses into American film jargon, caused them endless amusement." By the next book Biggles is snapping at him for using slang and even calls him an impudent brat (for the crime of making a harmless pun!) Poor Ginger must have been very confused by it all.
Luckily Algy is around to be a bit of a buffer between him and Biggles. That's one of the things I like about Algy and Ginger's relationship, especially in the between the wars books.
I get the feeling that Biggles was often impatient with Ginger (and perhaps on the brink of giving him that clip on the ear). Algy doesn't really care much about being insulted; his easygoing personality and high level of tolerance sees to that, although once his limit has been reached, it's Big Bang time (as in The Battle of the Flowers, where he spent all day digging up dirt just to see his sunflowers go up in smoke--literally--before his eyes)!!!
ReplyDelete