Zero Hour

by

Ray Bradbury

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Mrs. Mary Morris Character Analysis

Mrs. Morris is seven-year-old Mink’s mother and Henry Morris’ wife. She is somewhat exhausted by her excitable, imaginative daughter, though she often plays along with Mink’s happy rambling. Like all of the adults in the story, Mrs. Morris is extremely logical and thus believes—until it’s too late—that the Invasion is just a harmless, fictitious game for kids. On a subconscious level, though, it seems that Mrs. Morris does understand the gravity of the game. When “zero hour” strikes and the aliens successfully invade, Mrs. Morris’ mind is flooded with all of the little realizations and suspicions that she carefully concealed from herself all day. Mrs. Morris’s inner conflict over the Invasion illustrates how blinding it is to see the world through a purely logical lens. She also fails to take her daughter seriously for most of the story, highlighting the story’s criticism of the way adults are flippant about things children say and do, assuming their words and ideas are of little value.

Mrs. Mary Morris Quotes in Zero Hour

The Zero Hour quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Mary Morris or refer to Mrs. Mary Morris. 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:
Impressionability and Manipulation Theme Icon
).
“Zero Hour” Quotes

Mink talked earnestly to someone near the rosebush—though there was no one there.

These odd children.

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris, Drill
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 256-257
Explanation and Analysis:

Mink rebelled. “You’re laughing! You’ll kill Drill and everybody.”

Related Characters: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris, Drill
Page Number: 258
Explanation and Analysis:

“They couldn’t find a way to attack, Mom. Drill says—he says in order to make a good fight you got to have a new way of surprising people. That way you win. And he says also you got to have help from your enemy. […] And they couldn’t find a way to surprise Earth or get help. […] Until, one day,” whispered Mink melodramatically, “they thought of children! […] And they thought of how grownups are so busy they never look under rosebushes or on lawns!”

Related Characters: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris, Drill
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 259
Explanation and Analysis:

“And there’s something about kids under nine and imagination. It’s real funny to hear Drill talk.”

Mrs. Morris was tired. “Well, it must be funny. You’re keeping Drill waiting now. It’s getting late in the day and, if you want to have your Invasion before your supper bath, you’d better jump.”

“Drill says I won’t have to take baths […] He told all the kids that. No more baths. And we can stay up till ten o’clock and go to two televisor shows on Saturday ‘stead of one!”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis:

“We’re having trouble with guys like Pete Britz and Dale Jerrick. They’re growing up. They make fun. They’re worse than parents. They just won’t believe in Drill. They’re so snooty, ‘cause they’re growing up. You’d think they’d know better. They were little only a coupla years ago. I hate them worse. We’ll kill them first.”

“Your father and I last?”

“Drill says you’re dangerous. Know why? ‘Cause you don’t believe in Martians! They’re going to let us run the world. Well, not just us, but the kids over in the next block, too. I might be queen.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill, Mr. Henry Morris, Pete Britz, Dale Jerrick
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis:

“Mink, was that Peggy Ann crying?”

Mink was bent over in the yard, near the rosebush.

“Yeah. She’s a scarebaby. We won’t let her play, now. She’s getting too old to play. I guess she grew up all of a sudden.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill, Peggy Ann
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:

She was babbling wild stuff now. It came out of her. All the subconscious suspicion and fear that had gathered secretly all afternoon and fermented like a wine in her. All the little revelations and knowledges and sense that had bothered her all day and which she had logically and carefully and sensibly rejected and censored. Now it exploded in her and shook her to bits.

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris, Mink Morris, Mr. Henry Morris
Related Symbols: The Attic
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Zero Hour LitChart as a printable PDF.
Zero Hour PDF

Mrs. Mary Morris Quotes in Zero Hour

The Zero Hour quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Mary Morris or refer to Mrs. Mary Morris. 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:
Impressionability and Manipulation Theme Icon
).
“Zero Hour” Quotes

Mink talked earnestly to someone near the rosebush—though there was no one there.

These odd children.

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris, Drill
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 256-257
Explanation and Analysis:

Mink rebelled. “You’re laughing! You’ll kill Drill and everybody.”

Related Characters: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris, Drill
Page Number: 258
Explanation and Analysis:

“They couldn’t find a way to attack, Mom. Drill says—he says in order to make a good fight you got to have a new way of surprising people. That way you win. And he says also you got to have help from your enemy. […] And they couldn’t find a way to surprise Earth or get help. […] Until, one day,” whispered Mink melodramatically, “they thought of children! […] And they thought of how grownups are so busy they never look under rosebushes or on lawns!”

Related Characters: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris, Drill
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 259
Explanation and Analysis:

“And there’s something about kids under nine and imagination. It’s real funny to hear Drill talk.”

Mrs. Morris was tired. “Well, it must be funny. You’re keeping Drill waiting now. It’s getting late in the day and, if you want to have your Invasion before your supper bath, you’d better jump.”

“Drill says I won’t have to take baths […] He told all the kids that. No more baths. And we can stay up till ten o’clock and go to two televisor shows on Saturday ‘stead of one!”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis:

“We’re having trouble with guys like Pete Britz and Dale Jerrick. They’re growing up. They make fun. They’re worse than parents. They just won’t believe in Drill. They’re so snooty, ‘cause they’re growing up. You’d think they’d know better. They were little only a coupla years ago. I hate them worse. We’ll kill them first.”

“Your father and I last?”

“Drill says you’re dangerous. Know why? ‘Cause you don’t believe in Martians! They’re going to let us run the world. Well, not just us, but the kids over in the next block, too. I might be queen.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill, Mr. Henry Morris, Pete Britz, Dale Jerrick
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis:

“Mink, was that Peggy Ann crying?”

Mink was bent over in the yard, near the rosebush.

“Yeah. She’s a scarebaby. We won’t let her play, now. She’s getting too old to play. I guess she grew up all of a sudden.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Mink Morris (speaker), Drill, Peggy Ann
Related Symbols: The Rosebush
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:

She was babbling wild stuff now. It came out of her. All the subconscious suspicion and fear that had gathered secretly all afternoon and fermented like a wine in her. All the little revelations and knowledges and sense that had bothered her all day and which she had logically and carefully and sensibly rejected and censored. Now it exploded in her and shook her to bits.

Related Characters: Mrs. Mary Morris, Mink Morris, Mr. Henry Morris
Related Symbols: The Attic
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis: