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Hammerhead Kelly
Miss Barks is one of Demon’s case managers through the Department of Social Services (DSS). She finds Demon various foster placements and secures the social security payment for Demon that he’s entitled to receive once he turns 18. She ultimately leaves DSS, though, to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.
Miss Barks Quotes in Demon Copperhead
The Demon Copperhead quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Barks or refer to Miss Barks. 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:
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Chapter 11 Quotes
She asked me about Creaky Farm, and I told her. The old man was brutal to Tommy, and Swap-Out should be in some other kind of situation […]. Had Crickson ever hit me, she asked. Answer: no. I myself had not been struck. And that was that. Miss Barks was sorry, but Tommy and Swap-Out weren’t on her. Usually all kids in a home are from one foster company, but Crickson was an emergency-type place, and Tommy and Swap-Out belonged to a different foster company that Miss Bark didn’t work with. So fostering was done by companies, and we, as Stoner would say, were Product. Rotating and merchandising foster boys at more than fifty customer accounts. Live and learn.
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Chapter 20 Quotes
Miss Barks […] stuck with a different theory. I needed to be more pushy with them. Did she give up on her dreams? No, she worked hard for what she wanted. Did I expect anybody to look out for Damon if he wouldn’t look out for himself? Life is what you make it! Here’s where Miss Barks didn’t grow up: foster care. She had no clue how people can be living right on the edge of what’s doable. If you push too hard, you can barrel yourself over a damn cliff.
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Miss Barks Character Timeline in Demon Copperhead
The timeline below shows where the character Miss Barks appears in Demon Copperhead. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Demon’s new caseworker, Miss Barks , tells him they’ve found him a temporary placement with Mr. Crickson on a farm...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...with a red face and greasy combover.” He talks in a whisper like Freddy Krueger. Miss Barks runs through her list of preliminary questions with him, clearly frightened, before handing him a...
(full context)
Chapter 11
Demon thinks he’s at least halfway in love with Miss Barks . She tells him that he won’t be able to go back and live with...
(full context)
Demon thinks the supervised visits with Mom are weird. Usually they’ll meet at McDonald’s with Miss Barks pretending to read while she discreetly keeps tabs on them. Mom says Stoner is paying...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...comes home. Supervised visits with Demon now happen in their kitchen instead of a McDonald’s. Miss Barks is still there, though, to tell them when their time is up. Eventually, Demon gets...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...the office at school. He thinks finally everyone has remembered it’s his birthday. He finds Miss Barks waiting for him in the office, and she says she has bad news: Mom is...
(full context)
Chapter 17
...if any, Stoner will play in Demon’s life going forward. They meet for lunch with Miss Barks present, and the conversation quickly loses steam. Demon keeps trying to get Stoner to respond...
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Chapter 19
...Mrs. Peggot if they might think of adopting him or fostering him. Mrs. Peggot says Miss Barks asked her the same thing after Mom’s funeral. But, Mrs. Peggot says, she and Mr....
(full context)
Chapter 20
Miss Barks finds Demon a new home with the McCobb family. They have a boy, Brayley, who...
(full context)
Chapter 22
One afternoon, Miss Barks picks Demon up and says she has good news. On the drive, Demon has so...
(full context)
