A Monster Calls: Understanding Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Conor is walking to school, still frustrated with the monster’s story. His morning was frustrating, too: he spent half an hour sawing the sapling out of the floor in the middle of the night and then woke up late. Then his grandmother wouldn’t let him say goodbye to his mother because she said his mother had a “rough night,” which made Conor feel guilty for not helping her.

Lily catches Conor on his walk, saying that she forgives him for lying and getting her into trouble. But Conor says that he’s not sorry, and that he doesn’t forgive her. Lily says that her mother told her to “make allowances” for Conor, because of what he’s going through. This only infuriates Conor even more, and he storms away.

It was just over a year ago that Lily had told a few friends about Conor’s mother’s diagnosis, and the news had quickly spread around the school. Conor thinks, “it was like a circle had opened around him  [...]  that everyone was afraid to walk through.” It was as though he had suddenly become invisible. And pretty soon, he stopped trying to engage with other people.

Conor and his mother had hoped that by the summer holiday, her first round of treatments would put everything behind them, but then treatment had extended to a second and third round. When he got back to school in the fall, he was singled out to teachers because of his mother, and kids still treated him “like he was the one who was ill.” And so he now blames Lily, because there’s no one else to blame.

At school, Harry punches Conor in the stomach and he falls to the ground, scraping his knee. Anton and Sully continue to make fun of Conor. When Conor stands, he spots Lily leaning against the school wall, watching him before walking away. The school bell rings, indicating that they’re meant to go inside.

Harry raises his fist once more, as if to swing it at his face, but Conor doesn’t flinch, when Harry sees this, he lowers his fist as if he’s realized something. Miss Kwan comes over and gives them a warning for being late to class. She sends them inside, but asks to speak to Conor privately. She asks if everything is okay between him and the other boys, acknowledging that Harry can be a bully. Conor says yes.

Miss Kwan then says something that Conor always hates to hear: “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.” He can’t stand to hear her concern, thinking to himself that he doesn’t deserve it. He says that he’s fine, and that he’s not going through anything. Miss Kwan sighs, tells him to forget about her warning, and slips inside the classroom. Conor is left alone in the yard, knowing that he could probably stay outside all day and no one would punish him—which makes him feel worse.