Passage 8

p94 “And where was Ben?” to p96 “The pressure of those inhuman eyes of his had entered her sleep and woken her.”

In this passage, Harriet sees Ben outside his home for the first time after taking him home from the institution and it changes her point of view on her son.

• A different Ben

Ben seen as happy for the first time. Explain the situation and the characters involved.

• Ben and “his gang”

Explain the contrast created between Ben's situation in the gang (pet, mascot?) and Ben at home. (accepted in the gang / rejected, neglected, misunderstood at home...)

• How the reader sees Ben after that

Explain how it is difficult not to pity Ben after this passage. The passage once again raises the question of Ben's nature, of his difference, of the difficulty to cope with people who do not understand moral values and social rules.