Conor’s Father Character Analysis in A Monster Calls

Conor’s father and the ex-husband of Conor’s mother. Conor’s mother and father divorced when Conor was seven years old, and Conor explains that he barely remembers what it’s like to have a father in the house. Conor’s father now lives in America with his new wife, Stephanie, and a new baby. Conor’s father comes to visit when Conor’s mother ends up in the hospital. Conor is happy to see him—he enjoys being with his father and is comforted to have a parental figure to help take care of him and relieve him of some of his responsibility. However, even though it is clear that Conor’s father has good intentions, he is rather flaky. When Conor asks if he could live with his father in America instead of living with his grandmother, Conor’s father quickly makes excuses as to why Conor can’t live with him. Instead of trying to make his son’s life easier, he repeats several times that Conor will have to “be brave” in the coming weeks. Thus, in contrast to Conor’s grandmother, who insists on treating him like a child, Conor’s father’s lack of taking responsibility forces Conor to be even more of an adult.

Conor’s Father Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Conor’s Father or refer to Conor’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Death, Denial, and Acceptance Theme Icon

He’d told no one about the nightmare. Not his mum, obviously, but no one else either, not his dad in their fortnightly (or so) phone call, definitely not his grandma, and no one at school. Absolutely not.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Grandmother, Conor’s Father, Conor’s Mother, The Monster

Page Number and Citation: 1

Explanation and Analysis:

When Ness first introduces thirteen-year-old Conor O’Malley, he is reeling from a recurring nightmare that often causes him to wake up screaming. It is not revealed until the very end of the book exactly what the nightmare entails: Conor’s mother being dragged over the edge of a cliff by a monstrous creature, and Conor trying to desperately to hold onto her as she gets heavier and heavier. The nightmare becomes a metaphor for Conor’s mother’s illness, as she has cancer and Conor can feel the emotional weight of her illness and the responsibility for taking care of her constantly pressing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Volupta

“We barely have room for the three of us, Con. Your grandma has a lot more money and space than we do. Plus, you’re in school here, your friends are here, your whole life is here. It would be unfair to just take you out of all that.”

“Unfair to who?” Conor asked.

His father sighed. “This is what I meant,” he said. “This is what I meant when I said you were going to have to be brave.”

Related Characters: Conor’s Father (speaker), Conor O’Malley (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Grandmother

Page Number and Citation: 88

Explanation and Analysis:

When Conor’s mother is in the hospital, Conor’s father comes to visit from America, and he and Conor have dinner together. During the dinner, Conor asks his father if he can come live with him in America. Conor’s father makes one excuse after another, arguing that Conor won’t have much room, the family doesn’t have much money, and he doesn’t want to pull him away from his life in England. This exchange illustrates key aspects of the relationship between Conor and his father, and a lot about Conor’s father’s character. Even though Conor’s father is well-meaning and is trying to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. V

His classmates kept their distance from him, too, like he was giving off a bad smell. He tried to remember if he’d talked to any of them since he’d arrived this morning. He didn’t think he had. Which meant he hadn’t actually spoken to anyone since his father that morning.

How could something like that happen?

But, finally, here was Harry. And that, at least, felt normal.

Related Characters: Conor’s Grandmother, Sully, Anton, Harry, Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Father, Conor O’Malley

Page Number and Citation: 125

Explanation and Analysis:

The morning after Conor destroys his grandmother’s sitting room, he goes to school and faces yet another day of isolation, with most of his classmates completely ignoring him. This quote demonstrates just how deeply Conor is desperate for human connection—to the point where he actually wants to be bullied because it confirms that people can actually see him. The quote also proves how much Conor wishes to be treated normally, even if this means being punished or bullied. His father and his teachers have been insistent on not punishing him, even when he does something wrong—like destroying his grandmother’s sitting Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a

“Son,” his father said, leaning forward. “Stories don’t always have happy endings.”

This stopped him. Because they didn’t, did they? That’s one thing the monster had definitely taught him. Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn’t expect.

Related Characters: Conor’s Father (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Conor O’Malley, The Monster

Related Symbols: The Yew Tree

Page Number and Citation: 134

Explanation and Analysis:

When Conor visits his mother at the hospital and learns that she is trying one last treatment—a drug made from yew trees—Conor’s father then takes Conor for a walk outside the hospital. Conor’s father tells him that it is unlikely the treatment will cure his mother or stave off her illness—a fact that Conor denies. But Conor’s father’s words here stop Conor, as they begin to make him realize why the monster has come, and why the monster is telling him stories. Even though Conor has been very skeptical about what he is supposed to learn from the monster’s tales, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut.

Conor’s Father Character Timeline in A Monster Calls

The timeline below shows where the character Conor’s Father appears in A Monster Calls. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...too afraid to tell anyone about it—certainly not his mother, and not his grandmother or father either, and no one at school. He hears someone calling his name, a quiet whisper... (full context)

Conor thinks about a few important events that had happened in his life: his father leaving, the cat wandering off, the afternoon his mother said they needed to have a... (full context)

...arrives home to the house that he has always lived in. After his mother and father had divorced, and his father had moved to America, his mother only asked to keep... (full context)

...grandmother tells him sternly that the treatments aren’t working. She also tells Conor that his father is flying in on Sunday to visit. Conor’s father hadn’t visited from America since last... (full context)

...away from his house for the monster to visit. It is Sunday, the day his father is arriving. Conor’s grandmother has been driving Conor the 45 minutes to school every day,... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother leaves to go to the hospital while Conor waits for his father. He goes up to the “guest room,” which his grandmother insists on calling “his room.”... (full context)

...sitting room, but he settles in there to read his book while waiting for his father. He marvels at the pristine antiques that no one is allowed to touch. He realizes... (full context)

Conor and his father go out for pizza, and Conor’s notes that his father sounds more and more American... (full context)

Conor’s father invites Conor to visit him and his family in America for Christmas. Conor asks why... (full context)

Conor’s father argues that Conor’s grandmother has more money and space, and that it wouldn’t be fair... (full context)

Conor’s father drives Conor home after dinner. When Conor asks how long he’s staying, Conor’s father tells... (full context)

...“only of himself,” and who gets punished “very, very badly indeed.” Conor thinks of his father, and says that he is listening. (full context)

...have the nightmare, and woke up screaming. When he came downstairs in the morning, his father was making breakfast for him. His father said then that Conor’s mother has “taken a... (full context)

Conor had asked to go to the hospital too, but his father assured him that he would pick him up from school if he needed to. He... (full context)

...to cure his mother. Conor walks down the corridor and sees his grandmother and his father arguing. Conor asks what’s going on; his father says that he has to fly back... (full context)

Conor’s father takes Conor to a park across from the hospital. He tells Conor that the new... (full context)

Conor’s father says that “stories don’t always have happy endings,” which stops Conor in his tracks. Conor’s... (full context)

...either. Whenever he visits his mother, she’s often too tired to talk to him. His father calls occasionally, but he never has anything to say. The monster hasn’t returned since the... (full context)

Conor’s Father Character Analysis

Conor’s Father Quotes in A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls Quotes

Champ Quotes

Invisible Quotes

Could It Be? Quotes

Conor’s Father Character Timeline in A Monster Calls