The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

Many of Dahl’s stories center moral themes of morality, as previous demonstrated in “The Hitchhiker” which challenges perceptions of authority, greed and social class, and in “The Boy Who Talked with Animals” which emphasizes the theme of Kindness and Cruelty. Like Dahl’s stories for younger readers which feature the trope of simple moral themes, the stories in this collection include straightforward moral comparisons bolstered by hope amid the presence of darker, more mature subject matter. “The Mildenhall Treasure,” a direct retelling of the true story of British farmers in the 1940s, returns thematically to Dahl’s signature wellspring of virtue and vice. Dahl positions Gordon Butcher and Sydney Ford as moral opposites, inviting the reader to draw lessons from their juxtaposition.

Each character is a foil to the other, exemplifying Greed and Generosity respectively—a characterization most overtly emphasized by the reactions of the two men to the discovery of the treasure. Gordon lives a small life. He enjoys time with his family and his position as a skilled worker. He is happy with what he has and considers himself to be a fortunate man. In response to the treasure, Gordon feels an immediate sense of danger and literally runs away from it. He reacts instinctually against something that may compromise the contentment he feels with his life. He does not feel compelled to keep digging or even to claim the treasure once it has been unearthed. He only wants to return home to the comfortable life he has made for himself.

In contrast, greed makes Ford oblivious to anything other the potential increase of his personal wealth emphasizing the story’s position that greed is a corrupting force. Ford has more wealth than Butcher: “He was a fairly prosperous smalltime agricultural engineer who had a nice house and a large yard full of sheds filled with farm implements and machinery. Gordon Butcher had only his one tractor” (49). Despite Ford’s financial success, he is less satisfied with what he has and consumed with greed. Ford denies Butcher, a deserving man who could use the money, access to the life-changing benefits the treasure affords even though Ford has plenty of money without the treasure, suggesting that greed is never satisfied.

The irony of Ford’s greed is that he is trapped by it, living in service to it without reaping any of its rewards. He carefully cleans and cares for the silver, but he is unable to sell it because he knows it is illegal for him to own it. The law requires that all found treasure be turned over to the government. Meanwhile, Gordon quickly forgets about the treasure and lives contentedly, suggesting that the joy found in non-material things supersedes the pleasure of wealth. Although Ford possesses the treasure, he is tortured by its presence. It provides him with no joy or benefit. When the two men are given 1000 pounds each in reward, Gordon is happy to receive such a hefty sum, while Ford lives with the reality of its meager comparison to the value of the collection. Dahl’s story subverts the expectation that wealth leads to happiness; instead, Gordon and Ford represent how wealth often leads only to misery while generosity creates a framework for contentment.