The Celestial Omnibus

Mr. Bons, a static character, is a neighbor to the boy’s family in Surbiton, London. His name is “Snob” backward, and thus represents Adult Weaponization of Intellectualism. He heads a local Literary Society and enjoys a vast library. Mr. Bons is often compared to the boy’s parents, with him taking pleasure in reminding the family that he owns seven volumes of Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley’s work to their two. When the boy returns from his first trip on the omnibus, his parents force him to recite John Keats’s sonnet “To Homer” for Mr. Bons’s listening pleasure. The adults exhibit condescension, with Mr. Bons assuming the role of teacher and voicing the “essential truth of poetry” (Paragraph 3.21). The boy mentions achieving a new understanding of poetry due to the omnibus, but Mr. Bons remains skeptical. He promises the boy, “Some day, when you read more, you will understand what I mean” (Paragraph 3.21)—again elevating intellectualism over sensory experience.

When the omnibus arrives a second time, Mr. Bons gapes at the sight of the new driver—Dante Alighieri. Inside the carriage, he notices a familiar quote: “Lasciate ogni baldanza voi che entrate,” or “Abandon all self-importance, ye who enter here” (Paragraph 3.40). He attributes the quote to Dante, but assumes “baldanza” (self-importance) is an error, as the original quote used the word “speranza” (hope). This presumption obscures Dante’s warning to remain humble. During the journey, Mr. Bons criticizes the boy’s love for fictional characters, as he himself favors “creations of Homer, of Shakespeare, and of Him who drives us now” (Paragraph 3.52). In comparing Mr. Bons’s arrogance and the boy’s joy, Forster frames them as allegorical opposites regarding true artistry. The boy rejoices at the familiar rainbow and shore, while Mr. Bons sees nothing. After begging Dante to return him to London, citing his vast collection of Dante’s works, he ultimately exits the carriage, falls, and dies—this death being detailed in a newspaper article.

The boy’s unnamed parents are static characters who live in Surbiton, London. When the boy grows curious about the neighborhood’s “To Heaven” sign, both parents dismiss it as a joke. Early in the story, the boy is tempted by his parents’ skepticism, but curiosity ultimately encourages him to disobey their authority. When he investigates the sign and alley, his father returns him home. Neither parent is curious, and thus consider poetry an apt punishment for leaving the house. However, whenever the boy recites poetry, they criticize its very nature.