Pages 47-65 Summary:

• After 8 months of pregnancy she went to Dr.Brett so he can induce the baby. Going against her judgment she decided to get medical help, since she couldn’t take the pain anymore. She finally gave birth to Ben who was definitely different from the other children. He wasn’t a pretty baby, he was heavy-sholdered, had a forehead that sloped from his eyebrows to his crown. His hair grew in unusual patterns, his hair was thick yellowish, his eyes were greeny-yellow eyes that had a hard stare on them. He was heavy, almost creature like who didn’t cry but roar.Harriet was bitter that the hospital wasn’t seeing his abnormality, instead calling him a “normal healthy fine baby.” Ben was insatiably hungry; drinking appetite could feed more than 5 babies. Harried stopped breastfeeding Ben and giving him bottles, since he was bruising her. They couldn’t figure out what Ben was, she took him to Dr.Brett again. He still didn’t have a reason for why Ben was that way. Ben didn’t play with the children, and he cried in protest more often which aggravated the children. When the family came over for the holidays they saw the way Ben was. Sarah thought Ben was creepy and that she’d rather have “poor Amy any day” Harriet started to feel remorse since no one could love Ben. David hardly ever held Ben like he did to the other children, he saw Ben as out of the ordinary and didn’t accept that Ben is his son. Harriet tried to comfort Ben and tried to play with him since everyone excluded him. Although she tried he was hostile and angry towards her, though she didn’t know why. However she tried to go to him every day so she could give him the attention he needed. She didn’t go to comfort him in the end, she just wanted to make him ordinary, just like everyone else. One day Paul went to go play with Ben in his room when no one was there, that’s when Ben deliberately bended Paul’s arm backwards leaving his arm badly sprained. The other kids were scared of Ben and made sure they stayed clear of him when he was around. After the incident Ben always stayed in his room, closed in by bars by the window with one to play with. He started to walk now, he did everything on his own by himself. During the holidays someone one brought a dog with them, and Ben couldn’t take his eyes off it. When people were sleeping and no one was near the dog, Ben killed the dog and had a mischievous smile on his face. People started to think twice before coming and the holidays after, the house was half empty. Ben hardly ever slept he always stood by his window staring out. Harried, once again, visits Dr. Brett who claims, still, that Ben is a hyperactive kid and that things are normal. Harriet feels as if after Ben was born she’s been living hell and that with Ben around nothing else exists. She says “I’m not going to let you destroy us, you won’t destroy me. . . “