A childhood friend of Rhea, Bennie and Scotty, Jocelyn begins a sexual relationship with Lou Kline at the age of seventeen. Jocelyn spends much of her adult life in and out of rehab, but eventually finds recovery. By the end of the book, she is living with her mother and pursuing a college degree. Like many other characters, Jocelyn struggles with aging and the feeling that she has wasted her time and not created the life she wants.
Jocelyn Quotes in A Visit from the Goon Squad
The A Visit from the Goon Squad quotes below are all either spoken by Jocelyn or refer to Jocelyn. 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:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of A Visit from the Goon Squad published in 2011.
Chapter 5
Quotes
Every night, my mother ticks off another day I've been clean. It's more than a year, my longest yet. "Jocelyn, You've got so much life in front of you," she says. And when I believe her, for a minute, there's a lifting over my eyes. Like walking out of a dark room.
Get the entire Goon Squad LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jocelyn Character Timeline in A Visit from the Goon Squad
The timeline below shows where the character Jocelyn appears in A Visit from the Goon Squad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Ask Me If I Care
...the voice of a young woman named Rhea. Late at night, Rhea, Scotty, Bennie, and Jocelyn go to Alice’s house. Alice tells the group about a private school where she went...
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...in a punk rock band called the Flaming Dildos. At school, Rhea, Scotty, Bennie, and Jocelyn, hang out on a strip of pavement called “the pit” with the other punk rockers....
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...down the path from the pit. Rhea wonders why the cholos talk to him, and Jocelyn tells her that Bennie is a cholo, too. Rhea explains the triangulations of love within...
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...hair green to draw attention away from the freckles. She feels ugly in comparison to Jocelyn, whom she thinks is beautiful. They have done everything together since fourth grade. Jocelyn has...
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On Saturday, Jocelyn and Rhea go to Scotty’s garage for band practice. Alice is there with a recorder...
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...after band practice. They drink from Rhea’s dad’s liquor before going, and Rhea notes that Jocelyn needs to drink more than her to get drunk. They eavesdrop in the Mab’s bathroom,...
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On another Saturday night, the band goes to the Mab, but Jocelyn goes out with Lou. After the concert, they return to Alice’s house, where Alice’s mom...
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...if Rhea is making a joke. Rhea says no, and promises not to laugh with Jocelyn later about the uniforms. Alice says she doesn’t care either way. Rhea notices that Alice’s...
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Later, Bennie tells Jocelyn and Rhea that the Flaming Dildos got a gig at the Mab. They shriek and...
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After the news, Jocelyn uses Rhea’s phone (at her house) to call Lou. Lou scolds Jocelyn, telling her not...
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The night of the concert, Rhea and Jocelyn meet Lou for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Rhea notes that he looks as old...
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They walk together to the Mab, Rhea and Jocelyn beneath Lou’s arm. In the hustle and bustle of Broadway, Rhea feels that once her...
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Rhea turns to Jocelyn, and is surprised to find her kneeling in front of Lou, giving him oral sex....
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After the concert, everyone goes to Lou’s house. The apartment is more extravagant than Jocelyn told Rhea, and she feels betrayed by this. Inside, everyone is shook up from the...
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Two weeks later, Jocelyn runs away. Rhea tells her parents that she is with Lou. Scotty and Alice have...
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While Rhea is waiting for Jocelyn to come home, Alice invites her over to her house. She has never seen Alice’s...
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Chapter 5: You (Plural)
Jocelyn and Rhea, adults now, return to Lou’s house. Twenty years have passed since the last...
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Jocelyn can only say “hello,” and Rhea notes that everything is the same. They both laugh...
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...shows Lou a photo of her children, and Lou says her sixteen-year-old daughter is cute. Jocelyn feels angered by this, since she herself was that age when she met Lou. She...
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A nurse comes in and adjusts Lou’s tubes, and Jocelyn has to look away from Lou’s colostomy bag. She begins to cry, thinking that Lou...
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Lou tells Rhea and Jocelyn he hasn’t been outside in weeks, so they push his bed outside to the pool....
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Jocelyn asks about Rolph, forgetting that he committed suicide years ago. Rhea shakes her head. Jocelyn...
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Jocelyn remembers standing on the roof with Rolph, watching a party by the pool. They waited...
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...of him. He puts his arms around them and says it’s nice to be with Jocelyn and Rhea again. They look at the water and listen to the birds. He asks...
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