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Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife
A farmer who employs Nat, Mr. Trigg is a kind yet proud man. He drives Jill home from the bus stop to escape a flock of birds, but does not take the threat seriously himself. He gently mocks Nat’s fear and offers him a gun, refuses to secure his own home, and insists he will be eating a “gull breakfast” the following morning. He also questions whether the Russians have poisoned the birds, echoing burgeoning Cold War anxieties. Mr. Trigg’s hubris leads to his downfall, however, as his entire household is killed by the birds. Nat finds his body next to a dangling telephone, suggesting he was trying to call for help when he died.
Mr. Trigg Quotes in The Birds
The The Birds quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Trigg or refer to Mr. Trigg. 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:
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The Birds Quotes
“I don’t want a gun,” said Nat, “but I’d be obliged if you’d run Jill home. She’s scared of the birds.”
He spoke briefly. He did not want to talk in front of Jill.
“OK,” said the farmer, “I’ll take her home. Why don’t you stop behind and join the shooting match? We’ll make the feathers fly.”
Jill climbed in, and turning the car, the driver sped up the lane. Nat followed after. Trigg must be crazy.
What use was a gun against a sky of birds?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Trigg Character Timeline in The Birds
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Trigg appears in The Birds. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Birds
Nat tells the farmer Mr. Trigg about the birds, and Mr. Trigg asserts that the weather must be causing the birds’...
(full context)
...of signal. As the birds begin to swarm, the two run to the farm, where Mr. Trigg agrees to drive Jill the rest of the way home.
(full context)
Mr. Trigg returns and makes light of Nat’s fear, insisting it is a waste of time to...
(full context)
...the birds. Jim is in the yard, his body trampled and his gun beside him, Mr. Trigg lies by the phone, and Mrs. Trigg is dead upstairs alongside an umbrella. The Triggs’...
(full context)
