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Ethan
Mr. Bender is Jenna Fox ’s closest neighbor when she and her mother Claire move to California after Jenna’s car accident. He befriends Jenna when she walks across their property lines to say hello to him, and he explains to her that he is a famous environmental artist. Initially unbeknownst to Jenna, Mr. Bender is also an old friend of her father Matthew’s, living under an assumed name. When Mr. Bender was 16, he got into trouble and asked Matthew for help. Matthew lent him money and the car that allowed him to escape his dangerous situation. Mr. Bender went to work for the original artist-recluse Clayton Bender. After the artist Clayton Bender died, Mr. Bender assumed his identity. Once Jenna figures out Mr. Bender’s secrets using internet searches and her own returning memory, the two bond over losing old identities and assuming new ones.
Mr. Bender Quotes in The Adoration of Jenna Fox
The The Adoration of Jenna Fox quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Bender or refer to Mr. Bender. 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:
).
Pages 3–91
Quotes
What kind of person was Jenna Fox that she didn’t have any friends?
Was she someone I even want to remember?
Everyone should have at least one friend.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I don’t know if I will ever remember Jenna. The Jenna I was, at least. Father seems to think I will. Mother desperately wants me to. But letting go of something old and building something new that is all my own feels good. I want more of this feeling.
“And your old life? Do you miss it?”
“Parts. Mostly I regret that I never saw my parents again.”
Pages 92–190
Quotes
I’ve heard about sociopaths, people who connect with no one but themselves and their own self-interests. That would be Dane.
Without knowing it, she called me a lab pet. Why am I so drawn to someone who could destroy me? Why do I need her to be my friend?
The dictionary says my identity should be all about being separate or distinct, and yet it feels like it is so wrapped up in others.
Pages 191–265
Quotes
I decide that sometimes definitions are wrong. Even if they’re written in a dictionary. Identities aren’t always separate and distinct. Sometimes they are wrapped up with others. Sometimes, for a few minutes, maybe they can even be shared. And if I am ever fortunate enough to return to Mr. Bender’s garden, I wonder if the birds will see that piece of him that is wrapped up in me.
Get the entire The Adoration of Jenna Fox LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Bender Quotes in The Adoration of Jenna Fox
The The Adoration of Jenna Fox quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Bender or refer to Mr. Bender. 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:
).
Pages 3–91
Quotes
What kind of person was Jenna Fox that she didn’t have any friends?
Was she someone I even want to remember?
Everyone should have at least one friend.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I don’t know if I will ever remember Jenna. The Jenna I was, at least. Father seems to think I will. Mother desperately wants me to. But letting go of something old and building something new that is all my own feels good. I want more of this feeling.
“And your old life? Do you miss it?”
“Parts. Mostly I regret that I never saw my parents again.”
Pages 92–190
Quotes
I’ve heard about sociopaths, people who connect with no one but themselves and their own self-interests. That would be Dane.
Without knowing it, she called me a lab pet. Why am I so drawn to someone who could destroy me? Why do I need her to be my friend?
The dictionary says my identity should be all about being separate or distinct, and yet it feels like it is so wrapped up in others.
Pages 191–265
Quotes
I decide that sometimes definitions are wrong. Even if they’re written in a dictionary. Identities aren’t always separate and distinct. Sometimes they are wrapped up with others. Sometimes, for a few minutes, maybe they can even be shared. And if I am ever fortunate enough to return to Mr. Bender’s garden, I wonder if the birds will see that piece of him that is wrapped up in me.
