The Phantom Tollbooth | Quotes

Milo lacks any interest in the things around him. He especially finds school a total waste of time. This not only describes how Milo feels, but it introduces one of the themes of the novel, the value of education.

This quotation explains Milo's lack of excitement about the world around him. It also sets up the events that follow as Milo drives his car through the phantom tollbooth and discovers places to go and things to see.

This statement has a double meaning. Literally it means that anyone who doesn't pay attention to things will end up in this place called the Doldrums. Milo did not pay attention to the road he was traveling on and ended up in the Doldrums. Figuratively, this quote means people who are inattentive will end up stagnant, despondent, or listless.

Here, the Spelling Bee states one of the themes of the novel—the importance of an education. This is a lesson that Milo learns throughout his trip.

Alec Bings here describes the people of the city of Reality—and also one of the lessons of the book. Some people are too busy and uninterested to really notice what is going on in the world. It is important to pay attention to things that are happening around you.

Alec tells Milo there is more to see in the Forest of Sight. But the lesson is meant to be much broader and is a reminder to Milo to pay attention to his surroundings.

Alec expects Milo to use his gift of the telescope to really look at things around him. He wants Milo to see things as they are and not in a superficial way.

Milo scoffs at math and problem solving, but math skills and numbers are important to know and understand. This is part of the main theme of the book—the importance of education.

This is a turning point in Milo's development. Initially Milo is bored by everything and doesn't seem to care about learning. Acknowledging that he realizes there is a lot he doesn't know shows that Milo is beginning to care about learning. This is a big change for him.

This refers to the feud between the two brothers that led to the banishment of Rhyme and Reason. One brother believes words are the most important thing, and the other brother believes numbers are more important. Their narrow worldviews are at the root of many of the problems that have developed in the Lands Beyond.

As the Terrible Trivium demonstrates, if you only do the things that are easy or useless, you will never have time to do the important things. It's easy to waste time. Instead, you should focus on the important things.

If one is fearful of change, like the Gelatinous Giant, one won't grow and learn. It's easier to keep things as they are than to work at changing them—but it's important to be open to new ideas.

The princess explains to Milo that one learns sometimes by making mistakes. Self-reflection and a commitment to learning are important lessons Milo learns during his journey.

Sometimes you can't see the purpose of learning something, but there is a purpose. As Milo learns, it's important to continue to learn new things even if the purpose isn't apparent now.

After Milo rescues the princesses, King Azaz, along with the Mathemagician, tell him that they believed his mission was impossible. If you think something is impossible, you might not try it. In this case, Milo would not have even tried to save the princesses if he had believed the quest was impossible.