Among the Hidden

Chapters 7-12 primarily focus on the development of the neighborhood, Luke’s descent into isolation, and his discovery of a possible third child in the house next door. 

During these chapters, Luke finds himself alone most of the time with nothing to do. He’s confined to his attic for most of the day, trapped with the same books he’s read over and over again. In Chapter 8, Luke attempts to make his time productive on one lucky morning when he discovers that the family has forgotten to raise the shades and he is free to wander about the house. Luke is at first afraid of using this freedom, and he double-checks that the surrounding houses are vacant before he ventures into the kitchen. While at first, he calls himself a “coward” he goes on to remind himself that “I’m cautious. I’m making a plan” (37). Luke’s skittish reaction to this first taste of freedom in months shows the impact that isolation has on him and illustrates the fear that third children feel for their lives. Still, Luke faces his fears and takes to the kitchen. He finds satisfaction in washing dishes and baking bread, though “Matthew and Mark always scoffed at it as women’s work” (39). Taking such satisfaction in everyday chores that many find dull or at least unremarkable further highlights the theme of The Effects of Privilege, as those who are unable to do these mundane chores find pleasure in them.

However, Luke’s day in the kitchen is cut short when his father arrives home for lunch, scolding Luke for the smell of baking bread and for putting himself at risk. Luke’s so defeated despite trying to do something good for the family, “He wanted to stomp, angrily, but he couldn’t. No noise allowed” (41). Despite taking every precaution, Luke still winds up in trouble for his efforts, and in his room, he cannot even express his frustration with his situation. Chapter 8’s events show a broader picture of Luke’s world of isolation, creating a tone of suffocation when he goes to his room angrily and cannot properly release his emotions, creating a parallel between Luke’s pent-up anger and his imprisonment in the attic. 

The isolation Luke feels also impacts his thoughts. In Chapter 10, while the family dines on Luke’s failed attempt at bread, Mark jokes that the bread is bad because Luke made it. Luke quips back that he “put special poison in one of the loaves that only affects fourteen-year-olds” (46). For a moment, Luke entertains the thoughts of what would happen to him if one of his brothers were to die. He wonders if he’d be allowed to walk free and attend school, but “[h]e felt guilty just thinking about it” (47). Luke’s dark thoughts about his brother’s potential death are a symptom of Luke’s isolation and the way his family treats him differently. These thoughts are a result of the lack of privilege he holds when he compares himself to other children who aren’t confined to the attic, further contributing to the theme of The Effects of Privilege. 

However, Luke’s time in the attic is not entirely unproductive. In his boredom, Luke has taken to watching the houses outside. At first, he watches as the nicely dressed prospective buyers, Barons, tour the houses. No family has more than one or two children, which Luke always counts when he sees the potential neighbors. Luke sometimes daydreams about “[w]hat if a family with just one kid moved in behind them, and he sneaked into their house and pretended to be their second child? He could go to school, go to town, act like Matthew and Mark…” (32). Though Luke rejects these fantasies, they reveal the part of him that longs to live a normal life. So, when the houses become fully occupied and Luke catches a glimpse of a possible third child’s face in the window of the next house over, Luke becomes completely preoccupied with his potential discovery. This moment becomes a turning point for Luke and shapes the direction of the rest of the narrative. 

Luke’s careful monitoring of the neighbors’ houses pays off as he furthers his investigation and realizes that he knew the two boys of that house were older than the face he saw in the window. Luke carefully counts the heads of each person coming and going from the houses around him, and, with nothing else to do during the day, he directs all his attention to the windows of the house next door. Luke receives several more hints as to a third child in that house as the days pass, leading him to debate about what to do with this information. As the days pass, “a crazy idea grew in [Luke’s] mind, sprouting new details daily” (51).

With the information about a potential third child next door, Luke’s brain begins to wander places where it never has before: planning a trip to leave the house. Prior to the knowledge of a potential third child like him, Luke had accepted his fate as a child confined to the attic. However, this new side of Luke that is awakened by the idea of a child like him next door brings about a braver, more motivated Luke, culminating in his actions at the end of Chapter 12. 

Although Luke knows he doesn’t have the safe covering of the forest outside, the neighborhood trees still symbolize safety to Luke, and he plans to visit the house next door while he still had “those leaves to hide him on his way” (52). Motivated by his need to find another like him and the urgency imposed by the changing seasons, Luke finally “knew without question that today was the day he’d have to go” (53), and he bravely takes his first steps outside of his home in months, breathing fresh air for the first time since the trees came down. 

Overall, these chapters develop Luke’s character as he faces inner turmoil surrounding his situation and external conflict as he decides whether to investigate the house next door. Luke goes from lonely and resentful to brave and determined at the idea of meeting another third child, showing how Luke deeply desires the company of others. Luke puts everything on the line when he leaves his house, determined to seek out another person like him.