There Are No Children Here
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Epilogue A Note on Reporting Methods
Themes
All Themes Family, Love, and Care Violence and Growing Up Persistence, Luck, and Success Justice and the Law
Quotes
Characters
All Characters LaJoe Rivers Lafeyette Rivers Pharoah Rivers Terence Rivers Paul Rivers Alex Kotlowitz Rickey Calvin “Bird Leg” Robinson Craig Davis Rochelle James Howard Leonard “Porkchop” Anderson Dawn Jimmie Lee Lelia Mae Anderson Audrey Natcone Anne Rhodes Charles Alonzo Campbell
Symbols
All Symbols Pharoah’s Stutter
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There Are No Children Here

by

Alex Kotlowitz
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Terence Rivers Character Analysis

LaJoe’s third son, Terence, is also her greatest disappointment. Despite sharing an extraordinarily close relationship with his mother, Terence leaves the house at the age of ten and begins selling drugs for a local drug dealer, Charles, who takes him under his wing. As a teenager, he runs into many problems with the law, which ultimately result in an eight-year sentence for burglary. However, throughout these ordeals, Terence remains loyal to his family. He often expresses his love to his mother and younger brothers (Pharoah and Lafeyette), as well as his desire to help the family out financially.

Terence Rivers Quotes in There Are No Children Here

The There Are No Children Here quotes below are all either spoken by Terence Rivers or refer to Terence Rivers. 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:
Family, Love, and Care Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

They didn’t listen. They didn’t understand. So if they thought he was a bad guy, if they wanted him to be a bad guy, then he’d be a bad guy. If they wanted to put him away for something he didn’t do, then he’d give them something to put him away with. It was a tangled and tragic life that had got him into trouble. It was his own confused method of seeking justice.

Related Characters: Terence Rivers (speaker), Alex Kotlowitz (speaker), Rickey
Violence and Growing Up Theme Icon
Justice and the Law Theme Icon
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

She had seen Terence change in the year she had known him. He had hardened. The weight lifting made him look older and more menacing. He seemed more defiant. “When I first saw him he was a little kid. He was soft-looking and soft-spoken,” she said. She didn’t think a long sting in jail would do him any good.

Related Characters: Alex Kotlowitz (speaker), Audrey Natcone (speaker), Terence Rivers
Violence and Growing Up Theme Icon
Justice and the Law Theme Icon
Page Number: 232
Explanation and Analysis:
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Terence Rivers Quotes in There Are No Children Here

The There Are No Children Here quotes below are all either spoken by Terence Rivers or refer to Terence Rivers. 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:
Family, Love, and Care Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

They didn’t listen. They didn’t understand. So if they thought he was a bad guy, if they wanted him to be a bad guy, then he’d be a bad guy. If they wanted to put him away for something he didn’t do, then he’d give them something to put him away with. It was a tangled and tragic life that had got him into trouble. It was his own confused method of seeking justice.

Related Characters: Terence Rivers (speaker), Alex Kotlowitz (speaker), Rickey
Violence and Growing Up Theme Icon
Justice and the Law Theme Icon
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

She had seen Terence change in the year she had known him. He had hardened. The weight lifting made him look older and more menacing. He seemed more defiant. “When I first saw him he was a little kid. He was soft-looking and soft-spoken,” she said. She didn’t think a long sting in jail would do him any good.

Related Characters: Alex Kotlowitz (speaker), Audrey Natcone (speaker), Terence Rivers
Violence and Growing Up Theme Icon
Justice and the Law Theme Icon
Page Number: 232
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock with LitCharts A+
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