Pages 85-97 Summary:

• When Harriet brought Ben back home everyone looked furious. David especially looked at Harriet as if she betayed him. Harriet tried to tell David that they were killing Ben and she simply couldn’t stand to know that they were doing that to her son. He was clear that he tried to forget about Ben but Harriet didn’t, which is why she felt the need to bring him back. The children were all disappointed that she brought Ben back and didn’t look at her. Harried tried to welcome back on her own. She fed him, tried to play with him, read him stories. He cried non-stop for days, he couldn’t control himself. But when he started to calm down and realize that he wasn’t in the institute anymore, Harriet talked to him and said that if he behaved himself that he was allowed to go outside. She set some rules for him, she told him never to hurt someone, and to behave like everyone else. Ben was still traumatized by the institution and it took him a while to get used to the fact that he was home now. The other kids still tried to be nice to Ben by greeting him when he was there. He still sat around observing the other kids to see their actions. Ben didn’t trust David though, he understood that David didn’t want anything to do with Ben. It was clear through David’s actions that he still didn’t understand Ben. Ben got close with a gardener named John. Whenever John came to do the garden Ben followed him and didn’t do anything bad. Ben started to go to school and Harried depended on John to take care of Ben after. John didn’t have a problem with it, and he came over to take Ben places. David took a break from the kids and Ben by taking a break that Harriet insisted on him taking with Dorothy. Even after having Ben Harriet still wanted to have more children. She confronts David on having more children but he’s scared that they might have more Ben’s and he couldn’t even handle one. It was clear that Ben was the last child they were going to have. John took Ben around with him and his crew and they let Ben ride along. Ben started to be more like the other kids, he ate like them, he chewed with his mouth closed and asked politely. Like and Helen wanted to go to boarding school which James would pay for. They clearly didn’t like Ben and therefore they decided to go live with where James was.