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
Conor is standing in the schoolyard. He tries to catch Lily’s eye but she doesn’t look over at him, “as if she could no longer see him.” He waits by himself until he sees Harry and Sully and Anton, walking across the yard, their eyes locked on him. Conor feels “weak with relief.”
In this chapter, as Lily continues to ignore Conor, he shows that he is so desperate for some human connection—so desperate to be seen—that he is happy to see Harry, Sully, and Anton, even though they are coming over to bully him.
Themes
The previous night, Conor slept only long enough to 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 turn,” and that his grandmother had gone to the hospital to talk to the doctors.
The difference in Conor’s reaction to these two events is notable: hearing about his mother’s worsening condition, Conor is concerned and wants to be with his mother, but he isn’t distraught over the news. In contrast, the nightmare—which essentially represents Conor’s prolonged grief and suffering—is really what he is afraid of, and what he works so hard to push away.
Themes
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 said he could see how upset Conor had been, nodding to the sitting room. Conor said that he didn’t mean to do it; Conor’s father told him that it was okay. Conor was surprised that he wasn’t going to be punished, to which his dad replied, “What could possibly be the point?”
Conor continues to want to be treated in a normal way, so much so that he asks his father to be punished for what he did to his grandmother’s sitting room. This is reminiscent of the moment when Conor contemplated staying out in the schoolyard rather than going back to class, as he knew he wouldn’t be punished for it but desperately wanted to be, seeing punishment as a marker that things are normal. It’s also significant that Conor specifically wants his father to punish him—and thus take on the traditional fatherly role—as it suggests that Conor longs for his family dynamic, punctuated by illness, divorce, and distance, to be normal as well.
Themes
Conor hasn’t done any of his homework for the day, nor does he pay any attention in his classes. Still, no one scolds for this behavior. He hasn’t even spoken to anyone since that morning. But when Harry eventually approaches him, Conor is relieved—“that, at least, felt normal.” Harry stops a foot away from him, and Conor prepares for a punch. Harry waits, until Conor says “just do it!” But Harry can see that this is actually what Conor wants, and so he leaves Conor standing alone, as though he is “completely invisible.”
Just as Conor wanted to be punished for destroying his grandmother’s sitting room, Conor wants to be routinely beaten up by his usual bullies because that helps Conor feel like everything is normal. Harry picks up on this, though, and instead starts to figure out a more underhanded way to bully Conor, tapping into his fear of being isolated.
Themes
Get the entire A Monster Calls LitChart as a printable PDF.
