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Uncle Monty
Earl is an older boy whom Philip often plays with after school. Earl— whose parents are divorced, “glamorous,” and absent—is a bad influence on Philip. It is with Earl that Philip begins his after-school habit of “following Christians” on Newark city buses, often trailing them through their commutes and very nearly up to their doorsteps. Philip and Earl are both insatiably curious about the lives of goyim, finding their Jewish friends and neighbors profoundly uninteresting. Like Philip, Earl is an avid stamp-collector, and because Philip thinks of Earl as a kind of mentor, he allows himself to be easily influenced by the naughty and devious Earl’s whims.
Earl Axman Quotes in The Plot Against America
The The Plot Against America quotes below are all either spoken by Earl Axman or refer to Earl Axman. 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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Chapter 3 Quotes
We never followed anybody we thought was Jewish. They didn’t interest us. Our curiosity was directed at men, the adult Christian men who worked all day in downtown Newark. Where did they go when they went home?
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Earl Axman Character Timeline in The Plot Against America
The timeline below shows where the character Earl Axman appears in The Plot Against America. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Vote for Lindbergh or Vote for War
...taking his stamp album out to bring it over to the house of his friend Earl Axman, an older fifth-grade boy he sometimes compares collections with—Earl has the best stamp collection...
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Chapter 3: Following Christians
Philip starts spending all of his time with his “stamp mentor” Earl, getting into all kinds of mischief. Earl is two years older and, because his parents...
(full context)
Philip is often anxious during his outings with Earl—but more than fearful, he is excited by the lives he observes and the boundaries he...
(full context)
Philip’s final trip with Earl occurs a few days before Christmas vacation. They board a bus and follow a man...
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