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Narrator
The narrator’s father’s assurance that her violent thoughts are normal cures her insomnia. As an adult, the. narrator reflects on how little she knew of her father’s life and inner world at the time, only picking up occasional hints of the financial and marital burdens he bore. Though she rejects some of his parenting methods—such as the use of corporal punishment—she also seems to have found comfort in his matter-of-factness.
Father Quotes in Night
The Night quotes below are all either spoken by Father or refer to Father . 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:
).
Night
Quotes
Who was it? Nobody but my father. He too sitting on the stoop looking towards town and that improbable faint light. He was dressed in his day clothes.
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Explanation and Analysis:
He said, “People have those kinds of thoughts sometimes.”
He said this quite seriously and without any sort of alarm or jumpy surprise. People have these kinds of thoughts or fears if you like, but there’s no real worry about it, no more than a dream, you could say.
[….] An effect of the ether, he said. Ether they gave you in the hospital. No more sense than a dream.
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Explanation and Analysis:
If you live long enough as a parent nowadays, you discover that you have made mistakes you didn’t bother to know about along with the ones you do know about all too well. You are somewhat humbled at heart, sometimes disgusted with yourself. I don’t think my father ever felt anything like this.
Get the entire Night LitChart as a printable PDF.
Father Quotes in Night
The Night quotes below are all either spoken by Father or refer to Father . 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:
).
Night
Quotes
Who was it? Nobody but my father. He too sitting on the stoop looking towards town and that improbable faint light. He was dressed in his day clothes.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
He said, “People have those kinds of thoughts sometimes.”
He said this quite seriously and without any sort of alarm or jumpy surprise. People have these kinds of thoughts or fears if you like, but there’s no real worry about it, no more than a dream, you could say.
[….] An effect of the ether, he said. Ether they gave you in the hospital. No more sense than a dream.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
If you live long enough as a parent nowadays, you discover that you have made mistakes you didn’t bother to know about along with the ones you do know about all too well. You are somewhat humbled at heart, sometimes disgusted with yourself. I don’t think my father ever felt anything like this.
