The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

by

Anne Fadiman

Martin Kilgore Character Analysis

A public health nurse who makes house calls to provide Lia with medical checkups after her final neurological crisis. Martin is an eccentric intellectual with an I.Q. of 150 and a full-body tan from taking vacations at a nudist camp. He is interested in Hmong culture, though his attempts to connect with the Lees ultimately fail due to his inability to transition out of what Nao Kao and Foua clearly see as his imposing and authoritative role. When he invites Fadiman to accompany him on one of his visits to the Lees, she gets a glimpse of the unforthcoming disposition that Foua and

Martin Kilgore Quotes in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down quotes below are all either spoken by Martin Kilgore or refer to Martin Kilgore. 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:
Cultural Values, Spirituality, and Medicine  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

At this point, [Lia’s sister], who was three at the time, ran over to Lia and started banging her on the chest.

“Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. “[… P]lease tell them they have got to watch these other little children. Lia is not a doll.”

Related Characters: Anne Fadiman (speaker), Lia Lee, Foua Lee, Nao Kao Lee, Martin Kilgore
Page Number: 222
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down PDF

Martin Kilgore Quotes in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down quotes below are all either spoken by Martin Kilgore or refer to Martin Kilgore. 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:
Cultural Values, Spirituality, and Medicine  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

At this point, [Lia’s sister], who was three at the time, ran over to Lia and started banging her on the chest.

“Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. “[… P]lease tell them they have got to watch these other little children. Lia is not a doll.”

Related Characters: Anne Fadiman (speaker), Lia Lee, Foua Lee, Nao Kao Lee, Martin Kilgore
Page Number: 222
Explanation and Analysis: