Previous
Jen’s Mom
Mark is Luke’s older brother; he’s 14, a few years younger than Matthew. Though Mark insists he’d never betray Luke, he’s also antagonistic to his brother, frightening Luke by yelling “Population Police!” when he enters Luke’s room, or teasing Luke for being effeminate when Luke tries to make bread. He also makes little effort to hide the fact that Mother still tries to make him play games with Luke.
Mark Garner Quotes in Among the Hidden
The Among the Hidden quotes below are all either spoken by Mark Garner or refer to Mark Garner. 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:
).
Chapter 2 Quotes
And somehow, after that, he didn’t mind hiding so much anymore. Who wanted to meet strangers, anyway? Who wanted to go to school […]? He was special. He was secret. He belonged at home—home, where his mother always let him have the first piece of apple pie because he was there and the other boys were away. […] Home, where the backyard always beckoned, always safe and protected by the house and the barn and the woods.
Until they took the woods away.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes
Luke felt strange about the joke, anyway. Of course he’d never poison anyone, but—if something happened to Matthew or Mark, would Luke have to hide anymore? Would he become the public second son, free to go to town and to school and everywhere else that Matthew and Mark went? Could his parents find some way to explain a “new” child already twelve years old?
It wasn’t something Luke could ask. He felt guilty just thinking about it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes
“But you’re a third child, too,” Luke protested. “A shadow child. Right?”
He suddenly felt like it might be easy to cry, if he let himself. All his life, he’d been told he couldn’t do everything Matthew and Mark did because he was the third child. But if Jen could go about freely, it didn’t make sense. Had his parents lied?
“Don’t you have to hide?” he asked.
“Sure,” Jen said. “Mostly. But my parents are very good at bribery. And so am I.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Among the Hidden LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Mark Garner Character Timeline in Among the Hidden
The timeline below shows where the character Mark Garner appears in Among the Hidden. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Luke’s older brother, Mark, grumbles that he and Matthew will have to do Luke’s chores now. He asks if...
(full context)
Chapter 2
...of sight. He figured that when he got to be as old as Matthew and Mark, he’d get to go to town or even just to the back field or the...
(full context)
On his sixth birthday, as he blew out the candles on his cake, Luke remembered Mark’s sixth birthday. Mark had wanted to have a party with his friends, but Mother had...
(full context)
...was the only kid who still sat in Mother’s lap or listened to bedtime stories—which Mark and Matthew deemed “sissified”—he insisted on learning the truth. Mother had explained that she and...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...with a toy train. Once, he wanted nothing more than to inherit the train from Mark, but today, Luke just wants to play outside. These days, Luke can’t even be in...
(full context)
Mark knocks at the door and shouts, “Population Police!” Luke snaps that that isn’t funny, but...
(full context)
...get to do anything and will just rot here. What if something happens to Matthew, Mark, Mother, and Dad, and Luke ends up dying in the attic? He’s read books about...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...softly for him to hear, and now Luke can’t hear what mean things Matthew and Mark are saying about him. After a few weeks, Luke stops even trying to interact with...
(full context)
...to live on now. The pigs were their main source of income. Dad, Matthew, and Mark all look at Mother. Luke can’t figure out why.
(full context)
Chapter 6
Two weeks later, on the same day that Dad, Matthew, and Mark take all the pigs to an auction, the tax bill arrives. When the three of...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...is gone to school or work, Luke goes to the attic. He watches Matthew and Mark get on the bus from the front vent, and then spends the rest of the...
(full context)
...comes home at 6:30 and gets right to work doing household chores, and Matthew and Mark don’t visit Luke much since they have homework. The three boys used to be able...
(full context)
Chapter 10
Luke is even gladder to be by himself when Mark asks what’s wrong with the bread. When Mother says Luke made it, Mark says, “Yuck.”...
(full context)
Chapter 12
Harvest season arrives, so Matthew and Mark stay home from school to help Dad. Mother also starts working overtime at the chicken...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...short hair, but he doesn’t understand what she means. He says he only knows Matthew, Mark, Mother, and Dad—and then silently wonders if he should’ve kept his family members’ names secret....
(full context)
Chapter 17
...extremely guilty about the potato chips. He thinks that his food would just go to Mark and Matthew, who aren’t starving—but he also remembers the homeless man who hadn’t eaten in...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...Government is afraid Dad will grow something illegal, and they want to confiscate the supplies. Mark giggles at the thought of Dad growing drugs, but Dad says this is serious—they might...
(full context)
...they also aren’t smart enough to not get the whole family in trouble. Luke insists Mark and Matthew would never give him up, but Jen asks if they might someday be...
(full context)
Chapter 25
Once Mother, Dad, Matthew, and Mark leave, Luke risks turning on the radio. He listens to weather reports, music, and news...
(full context)
Chapter 29
...blur as he thinks about the life he’s lived so far. He’s certain Matthew and Mark will continue to care for him, and he knows his life is limited. But Luke...
(full context)
Chapter 30
Luke looks back at the porch, where Mother, Dad, Matthew, and Mark are waving. Mother is sobbing, just like she did when Luke finally told them everything....
(full context)
...Jen’s dad pulls out of the driveway, Luke peers back at Mother, Dad, Matthew, and Mark. For the first time, Luke can see the whole barn and the fields in the...
(full context)
