All the Bright Places

All the Bright Places

by

Jennifer Niven

Finch’s Mom Character Analysis

Finch, Kate, and Decca’s mom has been sad and disaffected since her divorce from Finch’s dad a year before the novel begins. She drinks wine whenever she’s at home and, in Finch’s opinion, seldom makes any effort to actively parent them. She also has had to work two jobs since the divorce; she works as a real estate agent and part-time at the local bookstore. Because of her two jobs, she’s not home much. Finch notes that in general, he and his family don’t show emotion or have honest conversations with one another. So, although Finch’s mom asks her children every night at dinner what they learned that day, she seldom seems genuinely interested in their answers. She’s also not involved in her children’s lives at all—she never checks the voicemails on the family’s landline, for instance, so she never learns that Mr. Embry has concerns about Finch’s well-being, or that Finch skips school for weeks at a time and is ultimately expelled. Finch suggests that part of this has to do with the fact that Finch’s mom doesn’t believe in illnesses that aren’t physical, so she doesn’t take Finch’s headaches (a symptom of his mental illness) seriously when they occur. Instead, she reminds Finch that he’s “sensitive.” Finch’s mom is so distraught when it seems likely that Finch committed suicide that she can’t bear to go find Finch herself—she asks Violet to go. To Violet’s parents in particular, this highlights her ineffectiveness as a parent and an avoidance of the hard, necessary work of parenting her children. Violet’s parents also seem to blame Finch’s mom for Finch’s death.

Finch’s Mom Quotes in All the Bright Places

The All the Bright Places quotes below are all either spoken by Finch’s Mom or refer to Finch’s Mom. 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:
Mental Health, Stigma, and Suicide Theme Icon
).
1. Finch: I am awake again. Day 6. Quotes

The thing I don’t say is: I want to stay alive. The reason I don’t say it is because, given that fat folder in front of [Mr. Embry], he’d never believe it. And here’s something else he’d never believe—I’m fighting to be here in this shitty, messed-up world. Standing on the ledge of the bell tower isn’t about dying. It’s about having control. It’s about never going to sleep again.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Mr. Embry
Page Number: 16
Explanation and Analysis:
8. Finch: Day 8 of the Awake Quotes

Dad asks about the November/December study-away program, and it takes me a minute to realize he’s talking to me. “Uh, it was okay.” Good one, Kate. I make a note to thank her. He doesn’t know about the shutting down or the trouble at school beyond sophomore year because last year, after the guitar-smashing episode, I told Principal Wertz my dad was killed in a hunting accident. He never bothered to check up on it, and now he calls my mother whenever there’s a problem, which means he actually calls Kate because Mom never bothers to check voicemail.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Kate Finch, Mr. Embry, Principal Wertz
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
18. Finch: Day 15 (still) Quotes

I made the mistake of talking about it once. A few years ago, I asked my then good friend Gabe Romero if he could feel sound and see headaches […] and he went home and told his parents, and they told my teacher, who told the principal, who told my parents, who said to me, Is it true, Theodore? Are you telling stories to your friends? The next day it was all over school, and I was officially Theodore Freak. One year later, I grew out of my clothes because, it turns out, growing fourteen inches in a summer is easy. It’s growing out of a label that’s hard.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Gabe “Roamer” Romero
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis:
21. Finch: Day 22 and I’m still here Quotes

In 2013, a man in Pennsylvania committed suicide via carbon monoxide, but when his family tried to rescue him, they were overcome by the fumes and every single one of them died before rescue crews could save them.

I think of my mom and Decca and Kate, and then I hit the opener, and up goes the door, and out I go into the wild blue yonder. For the first mile or so, I feel high and excited, like I just ran into a burning building and saved lives, like I’m some sort of hero.

But then a voice in me says, You’re no hero. You’re a coward. You only saved them from yourself.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Kate Finch, Decca Finch
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
25. Finch: Day 27 (I am still here) Quotes

I can go downstairs right now and let my mom know how I’m feeling—if she’s even home—but she’ll tell me to help myself to the Advil in her purse and that I need to relax and stop getting myself worked up, because in this house there’s no such thing as being sick unless you can measure it with a thermometer under the tongue. Things fall into categories of black and white—bad mood, bad temper, loses control, feels sad, feels blue.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad
Page Number: 185
Explanation and Analysis:
48. Violet: March 21 and beyond Quotes

“Listen, I’m the freak. I’m the weirdo. I’m the troublemaker. I start fights. I let people down. Don’t make Finch mad, whatever you do. Oh, there he goes again, in one of his moods. Moody Finch. Angry Finch. Unpredictable Finch. Crazy Finch. But I’m not a compilation of symptoms. Not a casualty of shitty parents and an even shittier chemical makeup. Not a problem. Not a diagnosis. Not an illness. Not something to be rescued. I’m a person.”

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Violet Markey, Eleanor Markey, Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Gabe “Roamer” Romero
Page Number: 307
Explanation and Analysis:

“He’ll be back. He always comes back.” That’s just his thing. It’s what he does.

I want to say to her and Charlie and Brenda, to Kate, to his mom: Doesn’t anyone care why he comes and goes? Have you ever stopped to think that something might be wrong with this?

Related Characters: Violet Markey (speaker), Decca Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Kate Finch, Charlie Donahue, Brenda
Page Number: 313
Explanation and Analysis:
54. Violet: May 3 Quotes

In all his words, the preacher doesn’t mention suicide. The family is calling his death an accident because they didn’t find a proper note […]. I stand, thinking how it wasn’t an accident at all and how “suicide victim” is an interesting term. The victim part of it implies they had no choice. And maybe Finch didn’t feel like he had a choice, or maybe he wasn’t trying to kill himself at all but just going in search of the bottom.

Related Characters: Violet Markey (speaker), Theodore Finch, Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad
Related Symbols: Water (the Blue Hole, Swimming Pools, Rivers)
Page Number: 341
Explanation and Analysis:
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All the Bright Places PDF

Finch’s Mom Quotes in All the Bright Places

The All the Bright Places quotes below are all either spoken by Finch’s Mom or refer to Finch’s Mom. 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:
Mental Health, Stigma, and Suicide Theme Icon
).
1. Finch: I am awake again. Day 6. Quotes

The thing I don’t say is: I want to stay alive. The reason I don’t say it is because, given that fat folder in front of [Mr. Embry], he’d never believe it. And here’s something else he’d never believe—I’m fighting to be here in this shitty, messed-up world. Standing on the ledge of the bell tower isn’t about dying. It’s about having control. It’s about never going to sleep again.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Mr. Embry
Page Number: 16
Explanation and Analysis:
8. Finch: Day 8 of the Awake Quotes

Dad asks about the November/December study-away program, and it takes me a minute to realize he’s talking to me. “Uh, it was okay.” Good one, Kate. I make a note to thank her. He doesn’t know about the shutting down or the trouble at school beyond sophomore year because last year, after the guitar-smashing episode, I told Principal Wertz my dad was killed in a hunting accident. He never bothered to check up on it, and now he calls my mother whenever there’s a problem, which means he actually calls Kate because Mom never bothers to check voicemail.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Kate Finch, Mr. Embry, Principal Wertz
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
18. Finch: Day 15 (still) Quotes

I made the mistake of talking about it once. A few years ago, I asked my then good friend Gabe Romero if he could feel sound and see headaches […] and he went home and told his parents, and they told my teacher, who told the principal, who told my parents, who said to me, Is it true, Theodore? Are you telling stories to your friends? The next day it was all over school, and I was officially Theodore Freak. One year later, I grew out of my clothes because, it turns out, growing fourteen inches in a summer is easy. It’s growing out of a label that’s hard.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Gabe “Roamer” Romero
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis:
21. Finch: Day 22 and I’m still here Quotes

In 2013, a man in Pennsylvania committed suicide via carbon monoxide, but when his family tried to rescue him, they were overcome by the fumes and every single one of them died before rescue crews could save them.

I think of my mom and Decca and Kate, and then I hit the opener, and up goes the door, and out I go into the wild blue yonder. For the first mile or so, I feel high and excited, like I just ran into a burning building and saved lives, like I’m some sort of hero.

But then a voice in me says, You’re no hero. You’re a coward. You only saved them from yourself.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Kate Finch, Decca Finch
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
25. Finch: Day 27 (I am still here) Quotes

I can go downstairs right now and let my mom know how I’m feeling—if she’s even home—but she’ll tell me to help myself to the Advil in her purse and that I need to relax and stop getting myself worked up, because in this house there’s no such thing as being sick unless you can measure it with a thermometer under the tongue. Things fall into categories of black and white—bad mood, bad temper, loses control, feels sad, feels blue.

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad
Page Number: 185
Explanation and Analysis:
48. Violet: March 21 and beyond Quotes

“Listen, I’m the freak. I’m the weirdo. I’m the troublemaker. I start fights. I let people down. Don’t make Finch mad, whatever you do. Oh, there he goes again, in one of his moods. Moody Finch. Angry Finch. Unpredictable Finch. Crazy Finch. But I’m not a compilation of symptoms. Not a casualty of shitty parents and an even shittier chemical makeup. Not a problem. Not a diagnosis. Not an illness. Not something to be rescued. I’m a person.”

Related Characters: Theodore Finch (speaker), Violet Markey, Eleanor Markey, Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Gabe “Roamer” Romero
Page Number: 307
Explanation and Analysis:

“He’ll be back. He always comes back.” That’s just his thing. It’s what he does.

I want to say to her and Charlie and Brenda, to Kate, to his mom: Doesn’t anyone care why he comes and goes? Have you ever stopped to think that something might be wrong with this?

Related Characters: Violet Markey (speaker), Decca Finch (speaker), Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad, Kate Finch, Charlie Donahue, Brenda
Page Number: 313
Explanation and Analysis:
54. Violet: May 3 Quotes

In all his words, the preacher doesn’t mention suicide. The family is calling his death an accident because they didn’t find a proper note […]. I stand, thinking how it wasn’t an accident at all and how “suicide victim” is an interesting term. The victim part of it implies they had no choice. And maybe Finch didn’t feel like he had a choice, or maybe he wasn’t trying to kill himself at all but just going in search of the bottom.

Related Characters: Violet Markey (speaker), Theodore Finch, Finch’s Mom, Finch’s Dad
Related Symbols: Water (the Blue Hole, Swimming Pools, Rivers)
Page Number: 341
Explanation and Analysis: