Sling Blade poster

Sling Blade Quotes

"A simple man. A difficult choice."

R 1996 · 2h 15m
75
Audience
75
Audience
23 quotes
Doyle's Critique of Biblical Understanding
Doyle Hargraves You believe in the bible do ya Karl?… Well I can't understand none of it. This one begat this one. This one begat that one, begat, begat. Lo and behold someone says some shit or another. Just how retarded are you?
Request for Food at the Counter
Frosty Cream Boy Can I help you, sir? Can I help you, sir?
Karl Childers I was kinda wantin somethin nother to eat, mmm-hmm.
Frosty Cream Boy Well, uh, what would you like?
Karl You got any biscuits for sale in there?
Frosty Cream Boy Well no. This here is a Frosty Cream. We don't serve biscuits. We got a lot of other stuff, though.
Karl What you got in there that's good to eat?
Frosty Cream Boy Well, we got Big Chief burgers, Bongo burgers, foot longs, corny dogs, Frosty shakes, creamy bars. Uh, did you want me to go through the whole list?
Karl Reckon what you like to eat in there?
Frosty Cream Boy Well, the french fries are pretty good.
Karl French fried potaters?
Frosty Cream Boy Yup, the french fries.
Karl How much you want for em?
Frosty Cream Boy Well, they're 60 for the medium and 75 for large.
Karl I reckon I'll have me some of the big uns.
Frosty Cream Boy Alright then, one large french fries?
A Humorous Observation on Differences
Karl Childers There were these two fellars standin on a bridge, a-goin to the bathroom. One fellar said, "The water's cold" and the other fellar said, "The water's deep". I believe one fella come from Arkansas. Get it?
Frustration and Tension in a Conversation
Doyle Hargraves If you all don't shut up I'm about to go out of my mind. Ol Karl over here is about to bust a spring. He's already off balance.
Unlikely Heroes Arise from Unexpected Places
Taglines Sometimes a hero comes from the most unlikely place.
The Consequences of Suicide According to the Bible
Frank Wheatley Ever think of killing yourself on purpose like my daddy done?
Karl Childers I studied about it. The Bible says you ought not to. It says if you do that, you go off to Hades. Some folks call it Hell, I call it Hades.
A Conversation About Siblings and Loss
Frank Wheatley You ever have any brothers or sisters growing up?
Karl Childers I had one there for a little while. But, uh, it didn't get old enough for me to play with it.
Frank Why not? It die?
Karl Yes, Sir.
Frank Why?
Karl It got born too early. My mother and father made it come out too early some how or other.
Frank So it died when it came out?
Karl My daddy came out to the shed and got me. He said, "Here, take this and throw it away", and he handed me a towel with something or another in it. Well I started for that barrel and I opened up the towel cause there was a noise. Something a-moving around in there. The towel was all bloody-like all around it there. It was a lil ol baby not no bigger than a squirrel.
Frank A girl or a boy?
Karl It was a little ol boy.
Frank You threw it in the trash barrel?
Karl Well that didn't seem right to me, so I went in the shed and got me a shoe box and emptied out all the washers and nuts and screws and whatnot that were in it and I takened the little fellar and put him inside the box and buried him right there in a corner of the yard. That seemed more proper to me, I reckon.
Frank Was it still alive when you buried it?
Karl I heared it a-cryin through that box.
Frank That don't seem right. Seems like you would have kept him and taken care of him if he was your brother.
Karl I wasn't but 6 or 8. I don't reckon I knew what to do. I didn't know how to care for no baby. My mother and father didn't want him and they learned me to do what they told me. These days I reckon it's better to give him back to the Good Lord anyhow.
A Firm Refusal to Engage Further
Karl Childers Don't you say another word to me. I ain't listenin to you no more.
[to Charles Bushman, final words of the film]
Understanding the Sling Blade's Functionality
Karl Childers Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a kaiser blade. It's kindly a long wood handle, kinda like an axe handle, with a long blade on it shaped kindly like a bananer. Mmm hmm. Sharp on one edge, and dull on the other un. Mmm hmm. It's what the highway boys use to cut down weeds and what not, y'know.
Confrontation Over Past Grief and Regret
Frank Childers I told you I ain't got no boy. Now why don't you go on out of here and let me be? You ain't no kin to me.
Karl Childers I learned to read some. I read the Bible quite a bit. I can't understand all of it, but I reckon I understand a good deal of it. Them stories you and Mama told me, they ain't in there. You ought not done that to your boy. I've studied on killing you. I studied about it quite a bit. But I don't reckon there ain't no need for it if all you're gonna do is sit there in that chair. You'll be dead soon enough and the world'll be shot of ya. You ought not killed my little brother. He ought to had a chance to growed up. He woulda had fun some time.
[after a pause]
Call for Help After a Violent Incident
Karl Childers Yes, ma'am. I I need the police over at the Wheatley house, mmm. I've killed Doyle Hargraves with a lawnmower blade. Yes, ma'am, I'm right sure of it. I hit him two good whacks in the head with it. That second one just plum near cut his head in two... It's a lil ol white house on the corner of Vine Street and some other street. There's a pick-up truck out front that says "Doyle Hargraves Construction" on it. Doyle said besides sending the police, you might wanna send an ambulance or a "hearst". I'll be sitting here, waiting on ye.
[on the phone]
A Moment of Comfort and Departure
Karl Childers Everything's gonna be all right, boy. I kind of want to put my arm around you for a minute. Then I'm gonna get up and leave out of here.
Frank Wheatley Okay.
Karl I love you, boy!
A Simple Man Faces a Tough Decision
Taglines A simple man. A difficult choice.
Preference for French Fried Potatoes
Karl Childers I like them French fried potaters.
Unwelcome Greetings in a Tense Encounter
Doyle Hargraves Was you in the nut house for hackin somebody up with a hatchet?
Karl Childers I never used no hatchet that I remember. Mmm hmm.
Doyle So you're just crazy in a retard kind of way, huh? Wouldn't matter to me if you did do violence on someone. I ain't scared of shit. You're just a humped-over retard, seems to me. I'm just kiddin'. Welcome to our humble home, Buddy.
Appreciating the Beauty of a Pickup Truck
Doyle Hargraves Not that you two afflicted sumbitches know anything about this, but you're sitting in a crew cab dualie pickup. In some circles, this is considered a piece of automotive art.
Confrontation Over a Lawn Mower Blade
Doyle Hargraves What the hell you doing with that lawn mower blade?
Karl Childers I aim to kill you with it.
Fatherhood and Acceptance in Unconventional Relationships
Karl Childers I don't reckon you have to go with women to be a good daddy to a boy. You been real square-dealin with me. The Bible says two men ought not lay together. But I don't reckon the Good Lord would send anybody like you to Hades. That Frank, he lives inside of his own heart. That's an awful big place to live in. You take good care of that boy.
[to Vaughn]
Simple Thoughts on Everyday Needs
Vaughan Cunningham You seem like a thinker, you know. You seem to always be deep in thought. Okay, tell me something. What are you thinking right now?
Karl Childers I was thinking um, I'm gonna take some of these potaters home with me.
Vaughan Oh. How about before that?
Karl Let me think, mmm. Before that I was thinking I could use me another six or eight cans of that potted meat if you got any extra, mmm.
A Perspective on Justice for Children
Karl Childers I don't think anything bad ought to happen to children. I think the bad stuff should be saved up for the people who's grown up. That's the way I see it.
Reflections on Violence and Justification
Marsha Dwiggins Will you ever kill anyone again, Karl?
Karl Childers I don't reckon I got no reason to kill nobody. Mmm.
Acceptance of Differences in Appearance
Karl Childers I guess I am going to have to get used to lookin at perty people, and perty people going to have to get used to lookin at me.
Discriminatory Views on Disability and Personal Preferences
Doyle Hargraves Hey is this the kind of retard that drools and rubs shit in his hair and all that, cause I'm gonna have a hard time eatin round that kind of thing now. Just like I am with antique furniture and midgets. You know that, I can't so much as drink a damn glass of water around a midget or a piece of antique furniture.
Linda Wheatley Doyle, you're awful. You shouldn't be that way.
Doyle I ain't saying it's right, I'm just telling the damn truth. He'll make me sick. I know it.