Answer:
1) The full contents of the chest never came quite clear, perhaps because he didn't want to know.
2) His mother had once tried to explain the paper to him, but he hadn't wanted to listen.
Explanation:
"The Brown Chest" is a short story that takes us down the memory lane of the author's childhood. The story takes us through the family tree of Updike.
The two sentences that reflect on the main character's uneasiness with his family history are:
1) The full contents of the chest never came quite clear, perhaps because he didn't want to know.
2) His mother had once tried to explain the paper to him, but he hadn't wanted to listen.
In these statements, the author reveals that how he never came to know about the history of the brown chest, as he never cared to know. Another statement also reveals his relationship with his mother.
