Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Monster Calls, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Death, Denial, and Acceptance
Storytelling
Isolation
Family and Growing Up
Summary
Analysis
When Conor’s grandmother arrives, she tells Conor immediately to put on a pot of tea for her and his mother. Conor’s grandma is not like other grandmothers: she wears pantsuits, dyes her hair to keep it from going gray, and still has a job. Her house is even worse, Conor thinks, because it’s filled with “expensive old things you could never touch.”
The first description of Conor’s grandmother bears some connections with the first story that the monster tells, which describes an evil queen that wants to take over the kingdom from the rightful heir and ruler, a handsome prince.
Themes
Conor brings the tea to his mother and grandmother. His grandma asks how school was, and he says it was fine—even though Lily was still fuming, Harry was still bullying him, and Miss Kwan had pulled him aside to ask “How He Was Holding Up.” His grandmother mentions that there’s a great boys’ school close to her house, which Conor suspects is a hint at the future. He starts to get angry, but his mother interjects, saying that Conor is happy where he is.
Conor’s grandmother wants to make additional changes in the young boy’s already tumultuous life. However, Conor is adamant that no changes need to be made because he wants to act as though everything is entirely normal. This is also why he continues to insist that nothing is wrong at school, even though everyone has changed the way they treat him and even his long-standing friendship with Lily has changed for the worse.
Themes
Since Conor’s grandmother doesn’t really cook, they have Chinese takeout for dinner. After dinner, Conor cleans up the food in the kitchen and starts wiping down the countertop. He and his grandmother start to argue about why she’s there, and she says that she is there to help his mother, and “because thirteen-year-old boys shouldn’t be wiping down counters without being asked to first.” He is adamant that they don’t need her there.
His grandmother introduces another reason why she’s there: Conor’s mother is concerned that he is growing up too quickly and is being forced to take on too much responsibility in caring for her. Although Conor’s mother and grandmother have good intentions, the young boy’s response acknowledges that he would rather take on this responsibility than make any more changes in his life.
Themes
Conor’s grandmother sighs angrily—though Conor thinks that she may not be angry at him. She says that the treatments aren’t actually making his mother better, and that they need to talk about him coming to live at her house. Conor is furious, and feels like “he could reach down and tear the whole floor right out of the dark and loamy earth.” He tells his grandmother that he will never live with her.
One of the other things that makes their relationship so difficult is that Conor’s grandmother is much more realistic about his mother’s condition than Conor is, as he continues to deny it. Here Ness foreshadows the violent consequences that Conor’s denial will have, as the anger and pain grows inside Conor and threatens to spill over.
Themes
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Conor’s grandmother reiterates that when this is all over, she wants Conor to know that he has a home with someone who will love him and care for him. Conor counters that when this is all over, she will leave, and he and his mother will be fine. Then they hear Conor’s mother call for his grandmother, and his grandmother rushes out of the kitchen to comfort his mother as she throws up.
Conor’s grandmother’s interaction with his mother also has connections with monster’s first story. Even though Conor’s grandmother isn’t particularly warm or kind to him and he doesn’t like her very much, she is still a caring parent and an important support system for Conor and his mother.
Themes
