My Life and Hard Times Study Guide

With grandfather away, father decides to sleep in the attic, in order to think. Mother is opposed, fearing the wobbly bed will collapse and the heavy oak headboard crush him. She is overridden. When James' poorly-balanced army cot flips over atop him at 2 AM, the noise sends Mother into a hysterical fit over her husband's fate, awakening the household. Visiting cousin Briggs knocks over a glass of camphor oil, nearly suffocating them, James awakens to find himself trapped and yells for help, brother Herman finds the attic door stuck and fights to open it. Father meanwhile awakens, assumes there is a fire, and yells "I'm coming!" Mother interprets this as him talking to God as he is dying. Father appears safe as the door finally opens. Later, they piece the situation together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. (read more)