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The Rosebush
At the end of the story, Mrs. Morris and her husband, Henry, hide in the attic, which symbolizes Mrs. Morris’ impulse to stuff down all of her suspicions and realizations throughout the afternoon for the sake of being a logical, sensible adult who would never believe in such a thing as aliens or a real Invasion. Mrs. Morris tries to hide in the attic to escape the reality of the Invasion, but all of these little suspicions come pouring out, and she’s finally forced to face the situation at hand: “All the subconscious suspicion and fear that had gathered secretly all afternoon and fermented like a wine in her. All the little revelations and knowledges and sense that had bothered her all day and which she had logically and carefully and sensibly rejected and censored. Now it exploded in her and shook her to bits.” Just as Mrs. Morris’ desire to hide from things that seem scary, strange, and impossible fails to protect her, so too does the attic ultimately fail to protect Mr. and Mrs. Morris from the Invasion. In the final moments of the story, the aliens melt the lock, and the attic door swings open.
The Attic Quotes in Zero Hour
The Zero Hour quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Attic. 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:
).
“Zero Hour”
Quotes
She was babbling wild stuff now. It came out of her. All the subconscious suspicion and fear that had gathered secretly all afternoon and fermented like a wine in her. All the little revelations and knowledges and sense that had bothered her all day and which she had logically and carefully and sensibly rejected and censored. Now it exploded in her and shook her to bits.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Zero Hour LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Attic Symbol Timeline in Zero Hour
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Attic appears in Zero Hour. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
“Zero Hour”
...other people’s yards. Frantically, Mrs. Morris screams for her husband to follow her to the attic. She knows that he’ll think she’s “insane,” but there’s not enough time to convince him...
(full context)
Once in the attic, Mrs. Morris locks the door behind them and tosses the key into a far corner...
(full context)
...her husband hear Mink calling out for her parents. As Mink wanders up to the attic, the sound of heavy footsteps follows her closely. There is a “queer cold light” visible...
(full context)
Mink calls out for her mother and father again, and the lock on the attic door melts. The door opens, revealing Mink, flanked by “tall blue shadows.” Seeing her parents...
(full context)
