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Mrs. Aarons
Jess’s eldest sister. Brenda thinks Jess is a nuisance and is constantly teasing him, laughing at him, and trying to get him in trouble with their mother. She is preoccupied with looks and fashion, and often finds herself getting frustrated and upset with their family’s lack of money. Jess finds Brenda “dumb” and self-centered and hates the way that she and Ellie conspire to gang up on him. Brenda isn’t really redeemed at any point in the novel—she continues to berate and criticize Jess even after the death of Leslie, policing the way he reacts to her loss, and only behaves gently toward him in a single moment when forced to by her family.
Brenda Aarons Quotes in Bridge to Terabithia
The Bridge to Terabithia quotes below are all either spoken by Brenda Aarons or refer to Brenda Aarons. 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:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
[Jess] wasn’t comfortable having Leslie at his house either. […] Brenda and Ellie always made some remark about “girl friend.” His mother acted stiff and funny [and] later she would refer to Leslie’s “tacky” clothes. […] Her hair was “shorter than a boy’s.” Her parents were “hardly more than hippies.” […] His father had seen Leslie only a few times and had nodded to show that he had noticed her, but his mother said that she was sure he was fretting that his only son did nothing but play with girls, and they both were worried about what would become of it.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
“What are you giving your girl friend, Jess?” Brenda screwed her face up in that ugly way she had. [Jess] tried to ignore her. […]
“Don’t you know, Brenda?” Ellie joined in. “Jess ain’t got no girl friend.”
“Well, you’re right for once. Nobody with any sense would call that stick a girl.” […] Something huge and hot swelled right up inside of him. […] Lord, it hurt his guts to realize that it was Brenda who was his blood sister, and that […] he and Leslie were not related at all. Maybe, he thought, I was a foundling, like in the stories.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
“Well, Momma, he’s just sitting there eating pancakes like nothing happened. I’d be crying my eyes out.”
Ellie was looking first at Mrs. Aarons and then at Brenda. “Boys ain’t supposed to cry at times like this. Are they, Momma?”
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Brenda Aarons Quotes in Bridge to Terabithia
The Bridge to Terabithia quotes below are all either spoken by Brenda Aarons or refer to Brenda Aarons. 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:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
[Jess] wasn’t comfortable having Leslie at his house either. […] Brenda and Ellie always made some remark about “girl friend.” His mother acted stiff and funny [and] later she would refer to Leslie’s “tacky” clothes. […] Her hair was “shorter than a boy’s.” Her parents were “hardly more than hippies.” […] His father had seen Leslie only a few times and had nodded to show that he had noticed her, but his mother said that she was sure he was fretting that his only son did nothing but play with girls, and they both were worried about what would become of it.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
“What are you giving your girl friend, Jess?” Brenda screwed her face up in that ugly way she had. [Jess] tried to ignore her. […]
“Don’t you know, Brenda?” Ellie joined in. “Jess ain’t got no girl friend.”
“Well, you’re right for once. Nobody with any sense would call that stick a girl.” […] Something huge and hot swelled right up inside of him. […] Lord, it hurt his guts to realize that it was Brenda who was his blood sister, and that […] he and Leslie were not related at all. Maybe, he thought, I was a foundling, like in the stories.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11
Quotes
“Well, Momma, he’s just sitting there eating pancakes like nothing happened. I’d be crying my eyes out.”
Ellie was looking first at Mrs. Aarons and then at Brenda. “Boys ain’t supposed to cry at times like this. Are they, Momma?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
