Skip to main content

Whom does Leslie find crying in the bathroom? Why was that person crying?

To her great surprise, Leslie finds Janice Avery, the well-known bully, crying in the bathroom. Janice's father beats her, and when Janice finally confided this sad truth in her friends Wilma and Bobby Sue, they revealed her secret to everyone--and now, even the teachers know about Janice's sad situation. This betrayal of trust and the subsequent possible destruction of Janice's tough reputation are what make her cry in the bathroom.


All this happens in...

To her great surprise, Leslie finds Janice Avery, the well-known bully, crying in the bathroom. Janice's father beats her, and when Janice finally confided this sad truth in her friends Wilma and Bobby Sue, they revealed her secret to everyone--and now, even the teachers know about Janice's sad situation. This betrayal of trust and the subsequent possible destruction of Janice's tough reputation are what make her cry in the bathroom.


All this happens in Chapter 7, an important turning point in Jess and Leslie's maturity. They'd previously been obsessed with getting revenge on Janice for bothering Jess's little sister. But their childish vengeful attitudes give way to a better understanding of Janice as a person, as someone who is suffering and whose infliction of suffering on others is now easier to understand and excuse.


Reading this story today, we might be confused about why it was a bad thing for the truth to come out about Janice's father abusing her. These days, we understand abuse better, and we encourage each other to speak out and to identify abuse when we suspect it so that adults can intervene and make it stop. (And, so that the abused person can seek treatment to recover, either physically or psychologically, or both.) But during the time when this story takes place, traditions and expectations were different. Here's how Jess explains it:



That was the rule that you never mixed up troubles at home with life at school. When parents were poor or ignorant or mean, or even just didn't believe in having a TV set, it was up to their kids to protect them. By tomorrow every kid and teacher in Lark Creek Elementary would be talking in half snickers about Janice Avery's daddy. It didn't matter if their own fathers were in the state hospital or the federal prison, they hadn't betrayed theirs, and Janice had.



Like Jess explains, then, Janice didn't want her abuse to be revealed. She would have preferred to keep it a secret and maintain her family honor.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...