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Reynie Muldoon
George “Sticky” Washington is an 11-year-old prodigy with an infallible memory (his nickname comes from the way facts “stick” in his head). He struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem, assuming Reynie is smarter than him on their first meeting and doubting his ability to help Mr. Benedict fight Mr. Curtain. When he first uses the Whisperer, Sticky reveals that his greatest fear is being unwanted. This fear is shaped not only by his nervousness, but by the mistreatment Sticky has suffered from his parents. When they discovered Sticky’s perfect memory, Mr. and Mrs. Washington pushed him to win fortunes on quiz shows. This escalated until they seemed to care more about Sticky’s winnings than Sticky himself, prompting Sticky to run away. Like the other members of the Mysterious Benedict Society, Sticky begins the story alone and lonely. His lack of self-worth prevents him from feeling important to his friends, which hinders his ability to connect with them. At Mr. Curtain’s Institute, Sticky is caught helping Kate cheat, and the Executives send him to the dreaded Waiting Room. Sticky is traumatized by the experience, but he continues helping his friends afterwards, hinting that he is braver than he believes. He proves his mettle in the climax, when he resists the Whisperer to allow Kate and Constance time to reach the Whispering Gallery. He realizes that he doesn’t need to fear not living up to his friends’ expectations because they care about him, not what they expect from him. As he confronts the Whisperer, Sticky also confronts his fears, and he finds the bravery he never thought he had.
Sticky Washington Quotes in The Mysterious Benedict Society
The The Mysterious Benedict Society quotes below are all either spoken by Sticky Washington or refer to Sticky Washington. 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 17
Quotes
Reynie wasn’t surprised by his friends’ responses. He too had been wary of the notion when it occurred to him. But were they not secret agents? Was not their very presence on the island a deception? Kate and Sticky’s reaction was just an instinctive response, he thought; they would come around in a minute. Still, Reynie was troubled….Where was his powerful love of truth?...Was he perhaps not quite the truth-loving brave soul Mr. Benedict and everyone else thought him to be?
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23
Quotes
[Sticky] was glaring at Jackson. It was such an angry look––so full of defiant outrage––that Reynie actually felt encouraged. There was strength in Sticky. It was just easy to miss. Easiest of all for Sticky himself.
Chapter 27
Quotes
Sticky tried to smile, but in truth he was decidedly troubled. If Reynie hadn’t spoken up just then, he wasn’t at all sure what he would have done. He had actually wanted to join the Messengers! Was that all it took to sway him––being asked? Did he want so much to be wanted that he would do, well, anything? It was as if the Whisperer had opened a door, and now Sticky couldn’t close it again. He was so ashamed he could hardly look up.
Chapter 34
Quotes
There had been times in Sticky’s life when an important question would flummox him no matter how well he knew the answer; and times he had run away from his problems; and times when he’d felt himself paralyzed when action was most needed. He’d never understood this tendency of his––he knew only that he rarely lived up to expectation….
And yet, in these last days, he'd become friends with people who cared about him, quite above and beyond what was expected of him….The effect of…all his friendships had grown stronger and stronger until––though he couldn’t say why he didn’t feel mixed up now––at the most desperate moment yet, he knew it to be true. There was bravery in him. It only had to be drawn out.
Chapter 35
Quotes
It has to be all four of us, but Constance can’t handle them. You can handle them, though. It will be rough, but you can handle them.
(Part of Kate believed this––a very important part, for Kate’s sense of invincibility was the main thing that had sustained her all her young life alone. But another part did not believe this––and it, too, was an important part, for unless you know about this part it is impossible to understand how brave a thing Kate was about to do.)
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Just a few minutes more, Number Two. Let them play. They are children, after all.”
And this was certainly true, if only for the moment.
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Sticky Washington Quotes in The Mysterious Benedict Society
The The Mysterious Benedict Society quotes below are all either spoken by Sticky Washington or refer to Sticky Washington. 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 17
Quotes
Reynie wasn’t surprised by his friends’ responses. He too had been wary of the notion when it occurred to him. But were they not secret agents? Was not their very presence on the island a deception? Kate and Sticky’s reaction was just an instinctive response, he thought; they would come around in a minute. Still, Reynie was troubled….Where was his powerful love of truth?...Was he perhaps not quite the truth-loving brave soul Mr. Benedict and everyone else thought him to be?
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23
Quotes
[Sticky] was glaring at Jackson. It was such an angry look––so full of defiant outrage––that Reynie actually felt encouraged. There was strength in Sticky. It was just easy to miss. Easiest of all for Sticky himself.
Chapter 27
Quotes
Sticky tried to smile, but in truth he was decidedly troubled. If Reynie hadn’t spoken up just then, he wasn’t at all sure what he would have done. He had actually wanted to join the Messengers! Was that all it took to sway him––being asked? Did he want so much to be wanted that he would do, well, anything? It was as if the Whisperer had opened a door, and now Sticky couldn’t close it again. He was so ashamed he could hardly look up.
Chapter 34
Quotes
There had been times in Sticky’s life when an important question would flummox him no matter how well he knew the answer; and times he had run away from his problems; and times when he’d felt himself paralyzed when action was most needed. He’d never understood this tendency of his––he knew only that he rarely lived up to expectation….
And yet, in these last days, he'd become friends with people who cared about him, quite above and beyond what was expected of him….The effect of…all his friendships had grown stronger and stronger until––though he couldn’t say why he didn’t feel mixed up now––at the most desperate moment yet, he knew it to be true. There was bravery in him. It only had to be drawn out.
Chapter 35
Quotes
It has to be all four of us, but Constance can’t handle them. You can handle them, though. It will be rough, but you can handle them.
(Part of Kate believed this––a very important part, for Kate’s sense of invincibility was the main thing that had sustained her all her young life alone. But another part did not believe this––and it, too, was an important part, for unless you know about this part it is impossible to understand how brave a thing Kate was about to do.)
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Just a few minutes more, Number Two. Let them play. They are children, after all.”
And this was certainly true, if only for the moment.
