A Monster Calls

by

Patrick Ness

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Monster Calls makes teaching easy.
The school bully, who has been targeting Conor ever since Conor learned of his mother’s diagnosis. Harry is often flanked by his cronies, Anton and Sully. Harry frequently trips, punches, and taunts Conor. As the book goes on, however, Harry starts to realize that Conor actually wants to get beaten up—as Conor describes in the book, Harry’s bullying is one of the only things that feels normal in his life. When Harry realizes this, he quickly changes tactics. He tells Conor that he is going to do the worst thing he can think of to do to Conor, which amounts to simply ignoring him along with the rest of the students. This makes Conor feel completely invisible, and he becomes extremely angry. Conor confronts Harry in the cafeteria, and while the monster narrates the third tale about an invisible man who wanted to make people see him, Conor beats Harry up. Conor breaks Harry’s nose, arm, and several teeth, demonstrating how isolation can turn even a gentle kid into a violent monster.

Harry Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Harry or refer to Harry. 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
).
Understanding Quotes

And for a moment, Conor was entirely alone.

He knew right then he could probably stay out there all day and no one would punish him for it.

Which somehow made him feel even worse.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry, Miss Kwan, Anton, Sully
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Invisible Quotes

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 O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Grandmother, Conor’s Father, Harry, Anton, Sully
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:
The Third Tale Quotes

Harry leaned forward, his eyes flashing. “I see nothing,” he said. Without turning around, Conor asked the monster a question. “What did you do to help the invisible man?”

And he felt the monster’s voice again, like it was in his own head.

I made them see, it said.

Conor clenched his fists even tighter.

Then the monster leapt forward to make Harry see.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley (speaker), The Monster (speaker), Harry (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:
Punishment Quotes

He was going to be punished. It was finally going to happen. Everything was going to make sense again. She was going to expel him.

Punishment was coming.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry, Miss Kwan
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:

There are worse things than being invisible, the monster had said, and it was right.

Conor was no longer invisible. They all saw him now. But he was further away than ever.

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Lily Andrews, Harry
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis:
A Note Quotes

I’m sorry for telling everyone about your mum, read the first line.

I miss being your friend, read the second.

Are you okay? read the third.

I see you, read the fourth, with the I underlined about a hundred times.

Related Characters: Lily Andrews (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
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Harry Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Harry or refer to Harry. 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
).
Understanding Quotes

And for a moment, Conor was entirely alone.

He knew right then he could probably stay out there all day and no one would punish him for it.

Which somehow made him feel even worse.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry, Miss Kwan, Anton, Sully
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Invisible Quotes

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 O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Grandmother, Conor’s Father, Harry, Anton, Sully
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:
The Third Tale Quotes

Harry leaned forward, his eyes flashing. “I see nothing,” he said. Without turning around, Conor asked the monster a question. “What did you do to help the invisible man?”

And he felt the monster’s voice again, like it was in his own head.

I made them see, it said.

Conor clenched his fists even tighter.

Then the monster leapt forward to make Harry see.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley (speaker), The Monster (speaker), Harry (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:
Punishment Quotes

He was going to be punished. It was finally going to happen. Everything was going to make sense again. She was going to expel him.

Punishment was coming.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry, Miss Kwan
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:

There are worse things than being invisible, the monster had said, and it was right.

Conor was no longer invisible. They all saw him now. But he was further away than ever.

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Lily Andrews, Harry
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis:
A Note Quotes

I’m sorry for telling everyone about your mum, read the first line.

I miss being your friend, read the second.

Are you okay? read the third.

I see you, read the fourth, with the I underlined about a hundred times.

Related Characters: Lily Andrews (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis: