Mrs. Mary Morris Character Analysis in Zero Hour

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

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 and Citation: 256-257

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, Mrs. Morris watches Mink and the other children out her window. The kids bustle about, preparing for what Mrs. Morris logically believes is a pretend alien invasion. This passage is one of the many times that a rosebush is evoked—each time, Mink is either talking to it or about it. It later becomes clear that Mink is somehow communicating with Drill, the leader of the aliens, through the rosebush. He dictates directions, like how to build the strange contraptions and apparatuses that the children are constructing out of pots, pans, and other housewares, and she relays those directions to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volup

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

Related Characters: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris, Drill

Page Number and Citation: 258

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Mink is inside for lunch, telling her mother about Drill and the Invasion. Mrs. Morris clearly thinks Mink is just being a theatrical, imaginative child and thus fails to stifle her laughter and smiles at the odd things Mink says. In response, Mink is sharp and defensive, claiming, “You’re laughing! You’ll kill Drill and everybody.” For some reason, Mink associates Mrs. Morris’s laughter with Mrs. Morris desiring to kill “everybody.” This strange leap in logic emphasizes that Mink is only seven years old and is thus impressionable and struggles to think rationally and critically. In addition, it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. No

“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 and Citation: 259

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, Mink is having lunch inside while telling her mom about the aliens’ strategy for the Invasion. Rosebushes appear again in this passage, reemphasizing the lack of attention that adults give to children, and how this has dangerous repercussions. Like most “grownups,” Mrs. Morris can’t be bothered to “look under rosebushes.” If she did, she would presumably find out how Drill and Mink are communicating (and, of course, realize that Drill and the alien Invasion are real). Furthermore, Mrs. Morris doesn’t look “on lawns,” where the children are building strange and highly technical apparatuses out of household objects to help Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corpo

“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: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Drill

Page Number and Citation: 260

Explanation and Analysis:

Mink continues telling her mother about why the aliens needed children’s help with the Invasion. Clearly, Mrs. Morris thinks Mink’s ramblings are wild and imaginative, as she sends Mink right back outside to continue helping with the Invasion. The narrator points out that “Mrs. Morris was tired” to reaffirm that she finds her daughter taxing to listen to and barely pays attention to what Mink says. This passage also reveals part of how Drill gained the children’s unflinching loyalty. In promising later bedtimes, more television (or “televisor shows,” presumably an invented futuristic device), and no more baths, Drill essentially promises Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volupta

“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: Mink Morris (speaker), Mrs. Mary Morris (speaker), Drill, Mr. Henry Morris, Pete Britz, Dale Jerrick

Page Number and Citation: 260

Explanation and Analysis:

Mink is having lunch with her mother and explaining how the Invasion game is going. She voices her frustration with the older kids in the neighborhood (who are just slightly older than her, since they “were little only a coupla years ago”) and specifically complains about the way they make fun of her and the other younger children. Once again, Mink is incredibly sensitive to being made fun of and hates when she’s not taken seriously by someone she considers a “grownup” (even if that so-called grownup is about twelve years old). She strengthens the divide between the younger kids Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui

“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), Peggy Ann, Drill

Related Symbols: The Rosebush

Page Number and Citation: 262

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Mrs. Morris notices one of the younger children, Peggy Ann, running away in tears from the other kids, who are still busy with their Invasion game. Uncharacteristically, Mrs. Morris intervenes in the situation, which is a brief moment of redemption for her. However, she once again fails to consider why Mink is “bent over in the yard, near the rosebush,” ignorant to the fact that this is how Mink is communicating with Drill. Mink’s claim that Peggy Ann ran away in tears because she’s a “scarebaby” and “grew up all of a sudden” feels contradictory. It seems Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque

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, Mr. Henry Morris, Mink Morris

Related Symbols: The Attic

Page Number and Citation: 265

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Mrs. Morris and a very confused and irritated Mr. Morris hide in the attic from the Invasion, which has just begun. Unlike her husband, Mrs. Morris suddenly realizes that the Invasion is terrifyingly real, which challenges what her logical adult mind considers to be in the realm of possibility. This passage exposes that she was actually harboring “subconscious suspicion and fear” throughout the afternoon but wasn’t fully aware of it. Even the reader wasn’t privy to this information, emphasizing just how well Mrs. Morris was hiding those realizations from herself on the basis of them not being Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa.

Mrs. Mary Morris Character Timeline in Zero Hour

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Mary Morris appears in Zero Hour. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...stuffs into a sack. At seven years old, Mink is “loud and strong and definite.” Mrs. Morris , Mink’s mother, is horrified by the mess Mink is making and demands an explanation.... (full context)

Peace, War, and Alien Invasions Theme Icon

From an upstairs window, Mrs. Morris peers down on the children in the yard and shakes her head with amusement. She... (full context)

...she drinks her milk in a single gulp and tries to dash back outside, but Mrs. Morris forces her to drink her soup. Squirming in her seat, Mink tells her mom to... (full context)

Mrs. Morris prods Mink to find out who Drill is and if he’s a new boy in... (full context)

Mink accuses her mom of laughing and claims that Mrs. Morris will “kill Drill and everybody.” Mink says she’s... (full context)

...make a good fight,” one needs the element of surprise and help from the enemy. Mrs. Morris says that this is called a “fifth column,” and Drill affirms that that’s what Drill... (full context)

Mink then rambles on about four “dim-dims,” and Mrs. Morris realizes she means the four “dimensions.” Mink adds that Drill also said “something about kids... (full context)

Backing out the door, Mink tells Mrs. Morris that she and the other kids have been having problems with some of the older... (full context)

Halfway out the door, Mink asks her mother what “lodge-ick” is. Mrs. Morris answers that “logic is knowing what things are true and... (full context)

Mink thanks her mother for lunch and runs out the door, only to return a few seconds later, calling,... (full context)

At 4:00 P.M., Mrs. Morris receives a video call from her friend Helen, who lives in Pennsylvania. Both women admit... (full context)

...they used to play as children back in 1948, especially one called “Japs and Nazis.” Mrs. Morris says she can’t believe her parents put up with her. Helen says that “Parents learn... (full context)

Helen says her son, Tim, has a crush on a boy named Drill, and Mrs. Morris says that Mink likes him too, and that the word Drill “Must be a new... (full context)

Mink runs in for a glass of water, and Mrs. Morris asks how the game is going. Mink says that the game is “Almost finished.” She... (full context)

...delight—except for a young girl named Peggy Ann, who runs away in tears. Noticing this, Mrs. Morris orders Mink to explain why Peggy Ann was crying. Mink, crouched near the rosebush, distractedly... (full context)

...mumbles that Drill is “stuck” and only made it halfway to Earth. She explains to her mother that if the kids can get Drill through successfully, then all the other aliens can... (full context)

Back in the house, Mrs. Morris sips a beer in her massage chair and thinks about how one minute, children hate... (full context)

A clock in the house chimes, announcing that it’s 5:00 P.M. Mrs. Morris laughs to herself, realizing that (according to Mink) it is now “zero hour.” A car... (full context)

A low buzzing noise begins to sound, and Mrs. Morris ’ eyes widen. Nervously, she asks Henry if the kids were playing with electricity or... (full context)

Suddenly, an explosion shakes the house, and Mrs. Morris screams. She and Henry hear several explosions go off in other people’s yards. Frantically, Mrs.... (full context)

Once in the attic, Mrs. Morris locks the door behind them and tosses the key into a far corner of the... (full context)

Henry yells that his wife has gone crazy, but upon hearing Mink’s voice downstairs, Mrs. Morris hushes him. The buzzing intensifies, and the video phone begins to ring “insistently, alarmingly, violently.”... (full context)

...is “tramping around” in his house. Through the sounds of the buzzing and children’s giggles, Mrs. Morris and her husband hear Mink calling out for her parents. As Mink wanders up to... (full context)

Mink calls out for her mother and father again, and the lock on the attic door melts. The door opens, revealing... (full context)

Mrs. Mary Morris Character Analysis

Mrs. Mary Morris Quotes in Zero Hour

“Zero Hour” Quotes

Mrs. Mary Morris Character Timeline in Zero Hour