The Bell Bandit

“They had swung the rope back and forth, over and over, until the noise of the bell filled the snow-covered valley below and the echoes of each peal bounced off Black Bear Mountain and came racing back to them, like an old faithful dog that always comes home.”

Jessie describes the beloved town tradition of ringing the bell on Lovell’s Hill at midnight. The quote illustrates the picturesque scene, contrasting the quiet of the snow-covered valley at midnight with the wild and joyous peal of the bell. She describes the echoing sound of the bell as an “old faithful dog” that always returns home to its owner. This simile evokes the comfort, familiarity, and stability that the tradition instills in Jessie and the other participants. Because the tradition takes place on the cusp of a new year, it grounds Jessie and the other community members in a sense of belonging and certainty that enables them to approach the new year with excitement rather than trepidation.

“Why did old people get like that? Did something break down inside their heads, the way a shoelace eventually snaps after being tied too many times? And how exactly did Evan know?”

After encountering the elderly man at the store, Jessie ponders the nature of memory. She compares memory to a shoelace, worn down by years of tying and re-tying that eventually causes a break in the fabric. This quote foreshadows the interactions they will soon have with Grandma as they navigate her memory loss, but Jessie’s understanding of memory loss at this point in the text is abstract. When the reality of Grandma’s memory loss confronts her, she struggles to put her abstract understanding together with Grandma’s real memory loss. The person Jessie knows is different now, and that reality is jarring and uncomfortable.

“Pete said, ‘Are you the man of the family?’ Evan shrugged. ‘I guess so.’ His mom didn’t really go for that ‘man of the family’ thing. And even though Evan’s dad had been gone for more than two years, Evan still didn’t think of himself that way. He tried to help his mom as much as he could, but he was only ten.”

Pete’s question of whether Evan is the “man” of his family causes him to question his place in his family. While his mom is not keen on outdated notions of the nuclear family, Evan wants to take care of and help his family as much as possible, especially with his father no longer in their lives. At this point in the text, Evan wants to help but views himself as incapable of doing much because of his age. This conversation with Pete is the starting point of Evan’s journey of self-discovery and maturity as, with Pete’s guidance, he realizes that he is more capable than he thought. Through helping Pete and learning from him, Evan will feel empowered to help better support his family as they navigate the challenges associated with Grandma’s memory loss.

“Jessie loved the tepee. It made her feel safe and warm and hidden away from the world […] This will never change, she thought with satisfaction.”

The way characters navigate change is an important theme in the text, and the tepee is an important symbol of stability when things around Jessie feel unfamiliar and scary. When Jessie finds the tepee again, right where she left it, she is searching for familiarity, which she associates with safety. The tepee takes on further importance as they frequently talk about the tepee lasting for “one hundred years,” a grounding and stable point that Jessie can rely on when everything else in her life is in upheaval.

“Evan could feel that bad feeling rising up in him. The feeling he got just before taking a test. The feeling he sometimes got late at night when the house was too quiet and too dark, and he wished his dad had never left.”

Evan experiences anxiety throughout the text although he never names it as such. Without a diagnosis, he refers to it as “that bad feeling,” a sensation uncomfortable yet familiar to him. He recalls other moments in his life that bring up the same feeling, all of which are moments of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. Now faced with his grandma’s treating him with suspicion about the fire in the kitchen and whether he may be responsible, Evan experiences that bad feeling again. Throughout the text, Evan’s character development hinges on how he approaches this bad feeling. Eventually, he pushes through it and meets his grandma with empathy and understanding rather than letting his bad feeling consume him.

“It was the most beautiful puzzle she had ever seen. And the hardest. […] Even though the pieces were different shapes, the picture on each one was basically the same. There was no way to pick one out from all the others. Jessie had never done a puzzle like this before. She didn’t know where to begin.”

Puzzles symbolize challenge, a task without one clear or straightforward path ahead. Jessie picks out this puzzle to bring to her grandma because they have enjoyed doing puzzles in the past. But the challenge this puzzle poses symbolizes the change and uncertainty Jessie and her family face as they all work through supporting Grandma in her memory loss. As Jessie stares at the puzzle, she is unsure of where to begin, alluding to the uncertainty she feels in how to best approach Grandma and the changes Jessie notices in her. Other characters, such as Evan, face similar struggles as the family navigates this new reality. This scene also evokes the same sense of confusion and uncertainty that Jessie faces in trying to find the bell. Its mystery is another puzzle she wants to solve, but she’s unsure of where to begin when the pieces are confusing. The puzzle’s difficulty also suggests that there may be more than one approach to a challenge.

“Evan didn’t like the sound of any of this, but he nodded his head. He wasn’t used to taking care of his grandma. She had always taken such good care of him and Jessie.”

Evan must take on responsibility within the text. As much as he enjoys working with Pete, for example, fixing Grandma’s house, Evan feels unsure about taking care of Grandma. The role reversal is jarring for Evan as he finds himself navigating an important yet uncomfortable aspect of growing up: taking care of the people who were once responsible for taking care of him. As the older sibling, Evan feels this pressure more acutely than Jessie. This stress, combined with the pressure Evan puts on himself to be the “man of the family” in his father’s absence, exacerbates Evan’s sense of responsibility for those around him.

“‘Grandma! Let’s go back now,’ […] But Grandma wasn’t stopping. She made a beeline for the bell, or at least where the bell should have been. Evan felt as though he had never seen a space so empty as the place where the bell was supposed to hang.”

This scene is the first substantial amount of time Evan has spent alone with his grandmother since her return from the hospital and since her memory has worsened. Evan is unsure how to best approach the situation, knowing that his mother has asked him to stay away from Lovell’s Hill because of the missing bell. When they arrive at the top of the hill after taking an unfamiliar path, the space where the bell should be hanging feels even emptier because Grandma is there. The bell is an important symbol of joy and community, but the bell is also strongly associated with Grandma and her memory. When the bell is not there, Grandma quickly becomes confused, disoriented, and angry, so Evan must navigate a challenging situation to get them both home safely. The bell is a tangible and grounding object for Grandma, and without it, her confusion and memory loss immediately worsen, causing her to forget Evan’s identity.

“Evan didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. The truth made no sense as long as Grandma didn’t know who he was. He tried to think. He tried to imagine what it must feel like to be his grandmother right now.”

Evan struggles to navigate getting his grandma home safely while she does not remember who he is. Evan demonstrates empathy and understanding to navigate this challenging circumstance, putting himself in his grandma’s position and trying to imagine what it would be like to be outside in the cold with a stranger whose intentions are unclear. By doing so, Evan can pursue the best course of action in the moment, not to try to convince his grandma of his identity but to go along with her confusion, diverting her attention and helping them get home safely. Evan’s empathy enables him to make the best decision in the moment, even as it causes him emotional pain that his grandma doesn’t recognize him.

“‘You don’t just forget someone in your family. That’s not possible.’ ‘Yeah, well, tell Grandma that. You can talk to her. She remembers you.’”

This quote illustrates the difference between Evan’s and Jessie’s understandings of their grandmother’s condition. Jessie, more literal-minded in part due to her age and inexperience, cannot fathom why Grandma does not know who Evan is. She defaults to believing that Grandma is simply pretending because Jessie has no point of reference or background knowledge that could help her understand Grandma’s lapses in memory. Because Grandma struggles to remember Evan, he better understands the extent of Grandma’s memory issues. While he understands Grandma better than Jessie does, he’s hurt she has forgotten him. This distress causes him to lash out at Jessie in this scene, emphasizing his frustration that though he better understands Grandma’s condition, it comes at the cost of his emotions.

“‘Grandma, you’re supposed to be napping.’ […] ‘Says who?’ said Grandma. ‘Mom said.’ ‘I’m not four, Evan. I know when I’m tired, and I know when I’m not.’”

This exchange between Evan and Grandma illustrates the frustrations people with memory loss and those who love them experience. Grandma is an adult who has walked nearly five miles daily for much of her adult life. She is capable, strong, and independent, yet her memory is failing and has resulted in potentially dangerous situations. These circumstances evoke anxiety from those who want to keep her safe, as Evan shows when he asks her not to go on a walk. Evan’s concerns are legitimate, but so are Grandma’s frustrations. Grandma feels that those around her infantilize her after the fire incident and seek to strip her of her autonomy to recognize basic needs, such as when she is tired or not. This scene illustrates the tensions that arise in families when a family member experiences memory loss.

“‘A friend is not supposed to make another friend go out on a stakeout alone. You don’t know anything about being a friend.’ Jessie thought of all the times Evan had explained to her the rules for getting along with other kids. Now, here she was explaining those rules to Maxwell. It felt weird.”

As the younger sibling, Jessie often relies on Evan to navigate the more challenging aspects of growing up. In this quote, Jessie reveals the extent to which she relies on Evan for his guidance, such as what it means to be a good friend and other lessons she has internalized. In this scene, Jessie feels empowered to be the one to help guide Maxwell, but the role feels awkward and “weird” to her since she is usually the student. This scene is important as it shows not only the strength of the bond and trust between Jessie and Evan but also that Jessie is growing up as well; she has learned from Evan and no longer relies solely on him to navigate every situation for her even though her maturation still feels new and strange.

“Evan stared at the crossbeam, empty like an eye socket. Grandma wasn’t here. The bell wasn’t here. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be. Nothing was ever going to be the way it was supposed to be.”

Evan stares at the space where the bell should be hanging, missing both the bell and his grandma after her disappearance. Evan compares the empty crossbeam to an eye socket without an eye, something missing the crucial piece that causes the whole to function. The missing bell highlights this same sense of loss that Evan feels now that his grandmother’s memory is fading. The latter part of the quote illustrates the unbridgeable gap between how things used to be and how they are. Finding the bell won’t fix Grandma’s memory, and Evan alludes to this fact when he says that nothing will ever be how it should be. He must find his grandma, but restoring her memory is an impossibility.

“[Suddenly] Evan knew who it was he needed to help him find Grandma. It wasn’t his father. It wasn’t his mother. He needed someone who would treat it like a math problem and keep a clear head. Someone who would be able to solve the puzzle. He needed Jessie.”

Throughout the text, Jessie relies on Evan to be the older sibling, the one who can help fix Grandma’s house after the fire and help Jessie navigate the challenges of early adolescence. Evan also strongly feels that he needs to be the responsible one, the caretaker of those around him. In this quote, the roles reverse, and Evan demonstrates that he also can rely on others for help. Jessie is an effective puzzle-solver, and Evan knows he can use her skills to help him locate Grandma. This quote highlights Evan’s maturity and ability to see his sister as a skilled and valuable partner: he says he needs someone who will act rationally and “keep a clear head.” Evan has deep emotional intelligence and sometimes allows his feelings to cloud his problem-solving ability, but he knows he can rely on Jessie’s keen and clear mind to help find their grandmother. This quote illustrates Evan's trust in her and the fact that Jessie is growing up.

“Evan felt a sudden wave of sadness for all the things in the world that were damaged and broken.”

This quote illustrates Evan’s emotional intelligence and how the world affects him deeply. Throughout the text, 10-year-old Evan navigates circumstances that would challenge even the emotional well-being of adults: his absent father, his grandma’s memory loss, and the way life changes as one grows up. Evan experiences anxiety but pushes through it to be present and stable for his mother, Jessie, and Grandma. While looking at the injured frog after saving it from the torture device, Ethan feels the weight he is navigating crash down on him like a wave. To Evan, the injured frog symbolizes everything that feels wrong or damaged in the world, all the things that Evan wants to save or fix but does not know how to do so.

“‘It’s dark. It’s dark, Jessie. And she’s all alone out there somewhere. And I bet she’s feeling like I am. Cold and scared and afraid of the dark.’ […] ‘Well, if she’s cold…then she’s going to want to go someplace warm […] and if she’s scared, then I guess […] She probably wants to hide away somewhere.’”

This quote illustrates Jessie’s and Evan’s unique skill sets as they work together to solve a problem. Evan begins to cry after he and Jessie try to trace Grandma’s steps but fail to locate her. Evan, who has kept his emotions in check throughout many trying circumstances, finally allows himself to cry and release some of the emotions he has been holding in. His empathy at imagining how Grandma must be feeling is the piece that helps Jessie put the puzzle together. The information Evan shares helps her figure out that Grandma must be hiding in a warm and safe place, and this idea leads them to find her in the tepee. This quote illustrates that Evan’s emotional and Jessie’s rational skills are necessary to find Grandma and work best when put together.

“[Now Jessie] was crying. Evan could see the first few tears pooling up in her eyes, and he knew if she really got going, there would be no stopping her. She hardly ever cried, but when she did, it was a thunderstorm. ‘Jess, it’s okay,’ […] ‘She’s tired […] And she’s old. This is how it is now. We have to get used to it.’”

In this quote, Jessie struggles to come to terms with the reality of their grandmother’s condition, which is worse than Jessie initially realized. This coming-of-age moment for Jessie illustrates how Evan helps her through an uncomfortable and upsetting part of growing up. With this metaphor comparing Jessie’s tears to a thunderstorm, Evan shows a deep understanding of his sister’s personality: she does not often cry, but when she does, she releases her emotions with the intensity of a thunderstorm. Evan also shows that he understands how to best approach his sister, exhibiting once again emotional intelligence beyond his age. Knowing that Jessie responds best to rational thinking, Evan tells her that Grandma’s condition is their new reality. He does not try to downplay it or soften the reality but is honest with Jessie. His use of the word “we” when explaining their new reality shows Jessie that she is not alone in going through this emotional pain.

“In her brain she knows exactly who you are. She just can’t reach it right now. It’s like my bedroom at Grandma’s house. It’s still there. We just can’t get to it for a while. It’s off-limits. But she’ll remember you again. When she’s not so cold and tired.”

Now that Jessie better understands their grandma’s condition, Evan further contextualizes it for her. He compares Grandma’s mind to his bedroom at her house, which is currently off-limits due to fire damage. By comparing Grandma’s memory and knowledge of them as her grandchildren to this currently damaged room, Evan gives Jessie the reality that while Grandma does struggle with her memory and does not know Evan and Jessie at the moment, there is still hope of a fixable solution; one day they may be able to go in that room again, just like Grandma will remember them again at some point, even if her recollection is temporary.

“‘Evan? […] Is she okay?’ ‘Sure […] Look at her. She’s fine.’ He paused for a second. ‘She’s just different than she was.’ ‘Really different.’ Evan shrugged. ‘Not all that different. Still Grandma.’”

In this quote, Evan illustrates for Jessie an important aspect of loving someone with memory loss or dementia: that they’re the same person even if they exhibit different behaviors. By explaining that Grandma is different, yet still herself, Jessie can process the changes more easily than if she had to think of Grandma as a stranger. Evan helps Jessie see that there is something fundamental about who Grandma is, which is unalterable and unchanging even though parts of her may be different now and in the future as she ages.

“‘Mrs. Cooper?’ said Jessie. ‘What’s wrong with Maxwell?’ […] ‘He’s just different, that’s all. He sees things differently than we do. […] Even though Maxwell is incredibly smart, there are some things he has trouble understanding. Like feelings. He has a really tough time understanding feelings.’”

Jessie learns important lessons about difference throughout the text. Just as she comes to terms with how her grandma is different from how she used to be, Jessie also comes to understand Maxwell’s differences. Most importantly, she learns that “different” does not necessarily mean “wrong”; Mrs. Cooper explains that Maxwell sees and experiences the world differently from other people. She further contextualizes these differences for Jessie, grounding them in concrete examples such as his struggles with changing his routine, hearing loud noises, or understanding feelings. Jessie then better understands her friend and has valuable tools for navigating her friendship with him when previously she may have grown frustrated or annoyed with some of Maxwell’s behaviors.

“It was a puzzle. You said you like to solve puzzles by yourself. I thought you wanted to figure it out on your own.”

Maxwell reveals that he has had the bell the entire time and explains his reasoning for not telling Jessie from the beginning. With Jessie’s knowledge about how Maxwell views the world and how he struggles with understanding emotions, Jessie better understands Maxwell’s intentions and how he was trying to be a good friend to her. While frustrated that Maxwell kept the bell’s location hidden from her, Jessie understands that Maxwell was not malicious in keeping the bell hidden; he thought he was being helpful by letting Jessie figure out the mystery herself. Previously, Jessie felt like she had to explain to Maxwell what it means to be a good friend, but here, she realizes there may be multiple ways to define what it means to be a good friend. People’s definitions of friendship are contingent on their circumstances and how they see the world. Friendship can occur when two people meet each other where they are, as Maxwell was doing in letting Jessie try to figure out the mystery herself.

“Evan had noticed a few spots on the post that were splintered. Tomorrow, he would come up here with a sanding block and work on the wood until it was smooth, just the way Pete had taught him.”

Pete is an important role model for Evan. Without his father’s active presence in his life, Evan sometimes feels pressure to be a protector or provider for his mother and sister. Pete shows him how to be a diligent worker and a man of his word by treating him with respect, responsibility, and trust, even though Evan is only 10 years old. This quote illustrates that Evan has internalized what he has learned from Pete about doing a job well and seeing it through. Evan now sees the smaller details that matter when taking care of something.

“I do know you […] I do. I just can’t…I can’t quite put it all together. But I know you.”

This moment connects Evan and Grandma at the end of the text. Throughout the text, Evan works to convince Jessie that Grandma’s memory loss does not change her love for them while struggling with feelings of rejection that result from her not recognizing him. This quote shows that his intuition has been right all along. Grandma confirms that she does know who Evan is even though she cannot remember the specifics. Her words validate Evan, who has worked hard to meet Grandma where she is in her memory loss, adjusting his behavior and approach to ensure her comfort and stability. This moment between them is a gift to Evan and a sign that his instincts to approach her with empathy and understanding were correct.