The Blind Side

by

Michael Lewis

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Blind Side makes teaching easy.

Denise Oher Character Analysis

The mother of Michael Oher, Denise is largely a peripheral presence in The Blind Side, and in Michael Oher’s own life. Denise lives in an impoverished part of Memphis, Tennessee, and for most of her adult life, is addicted to crack. She gives birth to many children, but fails to take care of them, spending any money she can find on her drug habit. As a result, many of Denise’s children, including Michael, are taken to live in foster homes. On the few occasions when Michael visits Denise as an adult, Denise is drunk and disorderly, and seems to show little love for her child.

Denise Oher Quotes in The Blind Side

The The Blind Side quotes below are all either spoken by Denise Oher or refer to Denise Oher. 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:
Generosity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

As [Denise] had no income except for whatever the government sent her on the first of each month, the children had no money for provisions. They had no food or clothing, except what they could scrounge from churches and the street. Surprisingly often, given the abundance of public housing in Memphis, they had no shelter. When asked what he recalls of his first six years, Michael said, “Going for days having to drink water to get full. Going to other people’s houses and asking for something to eat. Sleeping outside. The mosquitoes.”

Related Characters: Michael Oher (speaker), Denise Oher
Page Number: 296
Explanation and Analysis:
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Denise Oher Quotes in The Blind Side

The The Blind Side quotes below are all either spoken by Denise Oher or refer to Denise Oher. 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:
Generosity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

As [Denise] had no income except for whatever the government sent her on the first of each month, the children had no money for provisions. They had no food or clothing, except what they could scrounge from churches and the street. Surprisingly often, given the abundance of public housing in Memphis, they had no shelter. When asked what he recalls of his first six years, Michael said, “Going for days having to drink water to get full. Going to other people’s houses and asking for something to eat. Sleeping outside. The mosquitoes.”

Related Characters: Michael Oher (speaker), Denise Oher
Page Number: 296
Explanation and Analysis: