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Judy Burke
Jess, May Belle, Brenda, Ellie, and Joyce Ann’s father. A hardworking man who drives into Washington, D.C. to work each day, since there are no jobs to be had in the Aarons’ small, rural town in Virginia. Jess’s father is often irritable and cagey, and he is especially hard on Jess, whom he worries is not growing up to be masculine enough. Jess’s father discourages Jess from pursuing his love of art and teases him for spending all his free time with a girl—but as the novel unfolds and tragedy unspools, Mr. Aarons begins to soften, and eventually comes to Jess’s aid after Leslie’s death. Mr. Aarons’s tough exterior masks a more emotional inner life—one that has, it seems, been beaten down by the difficult demands of scrounging up menial work for little pay. Just like his wife, Mr. Aarons wishes he could provide better for his family.
Mr. Aarons Quotes in Bridge to Terabithia
The Bridge to Terabithia quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Aarons or refer to Mr. Aarons. 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:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“Daddy!” May Belle screamed with delight and started running for the road. Jess watched his dad stop the truck, lean over to unlatch the door, so May Belle could climb in. He turned away. Durn lucky kid. She could run after him and grab him and kiss him. It made Jess ache inside…
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Chapter 4
Quotes
[Jess] wasn’t comfortable having Leslie at his house either. […] Brenda and Ellie always made some remark about “girl friend.” His mother acted stiff and funny [and] later she would refer to Leslie’s “tacky” clothes. […] Her hair was “shorter than a boy’s.” Her parents were “hardly more than hippies.” […] His father had seen Leslie only a few times and had nodded to show that he had noticed her, but his mother said that she was sure he was fretting that his only son did nothing but play with girls, and they both were worried about what would become of it.
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Mr. Aarons Quotes in Bridge to Terabithia
The Bridge to Terabithia quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Aarons or refer to Mr. Aarons. 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:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“Daddy!” May Belle screamed with delight and started running for the road. Jess watched his dad stop the truck, lean over to unlatch the door, so May Belle could climb in. He turned away. Durn lucky kid. She could run after him and grab him and kiss him. It made Jess ache inside…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4
Quotes
[Jess] wasn’t comfortable having Leslie at his house either. […] Brenda and Ellie always made some remark about “girl friend.” His mother acted stiff and funny [and] later she would refer to Leslie’s “tacky” clothes. […] Her hair was “shorter than a boy’s.” Her parents were “hardly more than hippies.” […] His father had seen Leslie only a few times and had nodded to show that he had noticed her, but his mother said that she was sure he was fretting that his only son did nothing but play with girls, and they both were worried about what would become of it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
