The Midnight Gang

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, illness and death, ableism, and substance use.

“A look of panic swept across the doctor’s face. ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘There are a hundred and ninety-two questions on this form and we are still stuck on question one.’”

Doctor Luppers plays a minor role in the plot, but he offers plenty of comedy. Instead of a thorough examination or emergency triage procedures, this young, inexperienced physician only thwacks the lump on Tom’s head with a pencil before trying to handle the lengthy admission form. Idiomatic language (“swept”) conveys the doctor’s fear when Tom cannot initially recall his name; hyperbole (the number of questions) increases comedic value and pokes fun at the considerable bureaucracy of modern healthcare. The inept Doctor Luppers, along with Nurse Meese and Matron, juxtapose against kind Porter; early scenes between Tom and these characters introduce the theme of Adults as Allies and Adversaries.

“‘Are you comfortable?’ asked the porter, plumping up a pillow.

Tom didn’t answer. It wasn’t comfortable at all. It was like lying on a concrete slab with a brick for a pillow.”

Tom initially feels excited to stay at the hospital, as it means delaying his return to the hated St. Willet’s. These lines convey Porter’s care and concern, but the bed is so dreadfully hard and unwelcoming that Tom is mute. The simile (“like lying on a concrete slab”) and metaphor (“brick for a pillow”) communicate sensory imagery to the reader and invite them into the scene. This moment foreshadows Tom’s change of heart about the hospital: He soon wonders if his dreaded school might be preferable to the austere, uncomfortable environment.