Anxious People

Anxious People

by

Fredrik Backman

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Anxious People makes teaching easy.
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:
Parenting and Fear Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Jack/The Young Policeman/The Boy (speaker), Jim/Jack’s Dad/The Older Policeman (speaker), The Bank Robber, Anna-Lena, Roger, Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife
Page Number: 312
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Anxious People LitChart as a printable PDF.
Anxious People PDF

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:
Parenting and Fear Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Jack/The Young Policeman/The Boy (speaker), Jim/Jack’s Dad/The Older Policeman (speaker), The Bank Robber, Anna-Lena, Roger, Jack’s Mom/Jim’s Wife
Page Number: 312
Explanation and Analysis: