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Jim/Jack’s Dad/The Older Policeman
Jack’s mom and Jim’s wife is deceased in the novel’s present, and her death looms large over both her son and husband. In life, she worked as a priest and picked fights with and offended everyone, whether they were religious or not. She was adamant that it was her job to protect and defend the poor, the weak, and anyone who was suffering. At home, she was also a jokester and was fond of doing things like putting cornflakes in Jim’s slippers, telling bad jokes, or sticking her finger in Jim’s mouth when he yawned. Though Jack didn’t share his mother’s faith, she taught him the importance of helping people. She encouraged him to become a policeman.
Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife Quotes in Anxious People
The Anxious People quotes below are all either spoken by Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife or refer to Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife. 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 67 Quotes
“You’re a good police officer, son,” Jim will say, looking down at the ground. He’ll want to add but an even better person, but won’t be able to bring himself to say it.
“You’re not always such a damn good police officer, Dad,” Jack will grin up at the clouds. He’ll want to add but I’ve learned everything else from you, but the words won’t quite come out.
They’ll go home. Watch television. Have a beer together.
That’s enough.
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Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
After the hostage drama is all over, Jim and Jack compliment each other but don’t say all they’d really like to say. First, the fact that Jim wants to say that Jack is a wonderful person shows that Jim and Jack’s mom have done a good job raising a child who, in adulthood, now understands the value of doing the right thing. Jack resents his dad a little bit for stymying the hostage and bank robbery investigation, but Jim has also told Jack the truth and Jack understands why Jim did what he did to save the robber. Jack even Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum
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Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife Character Timeline in Anxious People
The timeline below shows where the character Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife appears in Anxious People. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...once. Steadying himself and wishing he’d chosen a different profession (his dad disapproves, while his mom, a priest, totally gets it), the officer says they need to know about hiding spots...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...on the bridge saw was a teenage boy. That boy ran to help, since his mom was a priest, his dad was a policeman, and he believed you should help people...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...interview room, while his dad sits inside with the real estate agent. The young officer’s mom was right: he and his dad shouldn’t have worked together. She was also convinced that...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...older policeman awkwardly explains that the young policeman is his son. He adds that his wife didn’t want them to work together, as she thought he was overprotective. Blushing, the officer...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...to be a writer in his youth). They both have photos of the same woman—Jim’s wife and Jack’s mom—on their desks.
(full context)
Chapter 46
...agent. Jack waits for his dad to get it, but Jim never gets it. Jack’s mom used to laugh at this sort of thing. They both miss her, and it’s because...
(full context)
...members, and what kind of god makes a priest sick. Now, Jack remembers asking his mom how she could stand to sit with dying people. She told him that it’s the...
(full context)
Chapter 49
It’s idiotic of Jack to not have realized everything from the start. Maybe it’s his mom’s fault, in that thinking about her so much today has distracted him. When she was...
(full context)
...standing out on the street waiting for the negotiator from Stockholm, they’re thinking about Jack’s mom and what she’d do. When the lime/pizza order hits Jack in the head, they call...
(full context)
...who’s taking the pizzas in. Jim begins changing in the street and says that Jack’s mom wouldn’t forgive him if he let Jack go. Jack points out that Jim was her...
(full context)
Chapter 60
...what happened, but readers should know that Jim isn’t a great storyteller. Thinking of his wife the entire time, Jim climbed up the stairs, checked the empty apartment, and then knocked...
(full context)
Chapter 63
...off. He silently muses that the most difficult thing about death is “the grammar.” Jim’s wife will never be angry again or put cornflakes in Jim’s shoes. Now, she was a...
(full context)
Chapter 65
...to start. Jim brushes a tear off her cheek and tells her one of his wife’s favorite jokes: how does one eat an elephant? A bit at a time. The robber...
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The robber asks why Jim is helping her. Jim says his wife always quoted someone who said something to the effect of even if the world ends...
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Chapter 66
...branch, but life went so fast, and Roger never got his turn. Julia says Julia’s mom says to never apologize for being good at something. Anna-Lena deems this wise.
(full context)
...apologize, so she entered the other apartment. Jim was left in the stairwell, hoping his wife would be proud or at least not angry. Then Jack came upstairs, the negotiator called...
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Chapter 72
...that he has other reasons not to take it. Really, he just knows that his mom would say that there are worse reasons to turn down a job.
(full context)
...parents belong to them, and perhaps this doesn’t change when kids get older. All Jack’s mom asked was that her family members do their best and save who they can.
(full context)
