Characters
Chairman X: Chairman of the Horticulture Department who wants to save Old Meats; in an open relationship with Lady X, they have four children; becomes involved with Cecelia. He has left-wing political beliefs and hates Dr. Gift and Nils Harstad.
Bob Carlson: Sophomore work-study student who takes care of Earl Butz for Dr. Bo Jones; dates Diane, lives with Gary Olson and Lyle Kartensen.
Earl Butz: 18-month-old Landrace boar who is the subject of Dr. Bo Jones’ secret experiment to see how big a pig can grow; cared for by Bob Carlson. Name refers to Earl Butz, former secretary of agriculture who was responsible for the modern farm subsidy system.
Dr. Bo Jones: Animal Science professor conducting a secret experiment on Earl Butz; goes missing during one of his travels to find wild boars.
Lady (Beth) X: Lives with and has four children with Chairman X, but not married.
Cecelia Sanchez: First year assistant professor of foreign languages from Los Angeles who becomes involved with Chairman X.
Tim Monahan: Self-centered associate professor of English who teaches fiction writing and is being considered for promotion to full professor.
Keri: The “mother” figure of the four roommates in Dubuque House who grew up on a farm in Iowa.
Sherri: One of the four roommates in Dubuque House; struggles with her classes and weight issues.
Mary Jackson: One of the four roommates in Dubuque House who is from Chicago, Illinois.
Diane Peterson: One of the four roommates in Dubuque House; has a relationship with Bob Carlson and wants to be in a sorority.
Dr. Margaret Bell: English professor on the tenure and promotion committee who was involved with Tim Monahan.
Dr. Helen Levy: Professor of foreign languages, French and Italian, who is a member of the tenure and promotion committee; involved in discreet, long-term relationship with Ivar Harstad; loves cooking and gardening.
Governor O.T. Early: State governor who threatens numerous budget cuts to Moo University.
Associate Vice President Elaine Dobbs-Jellinek: Associate Vice President for Development; writes grants, tries to help Dr. Bo Jones save Old Meats.
Gary Olson: Student in Tim Monahan’s fiction writing class; lives with Bob Carlson and Lyle Kartensen.
Dr. Lionel Gift: Economics professor who is obsessed with money and writes a report in support of mining for gold in Costa Rica; chair of the tenure and promotion committee.
Provost Ivar Harstad: Twin brother of Nils Harstad who is in a long-term relationship with Helen Levy; his secretary is Mrs. Walker.
Dean Nils Harstad: Dean of extension; twin brother of Ivar Harstad who plans to marry Marly Hellmich, a woman from his church, and have six children; approached by Loren Stroop for funding of his invention.
“Father” Helmich: Marly Hellmich’s ultra conservative, Christian father who requires constant care.
Marly Helmich: Cafeteria worker who agrees to marry Nils Harstad, a man from her church.
Dr. Dean Jellinek: Animal Science professor who is researching calf-free lactation with grant funding; divorced from Elaine Dobbs-Jellinek and in a relationship with Joy Pfister.
Mrs. (Martha) Lake: Mrs. Walker’s partner
Lydia Henderson: Lyle Kartensen’s girlfriend; character in Gary Olson’s stories.
Lyle Kartensen: Roommates with Gary Olson and Bob Carlson; Lydia Henderson’s boyfriend.
Arlen Martin: Head of TransNational America Corporation, which is planning to mine gold in Costa Rica under the last virgin cloud forest.
Jack Parker: Federal grant specialist; Elaine Dobbs-Jellinek’s competition.
Joy Pfister: Trains horses and teaches an equine class; in a relationship with Dr. Dean Jellinek.
Loren Stroop: A paranoid farmer who has invented a farming machine and wears a bulletproof vest all the time.
Alison Thomas: Elaine Dobbs-Jellinek’s secretary.
Mrs. (Loraine) Walker: Ivar Harstad’s secretary who wields great informal power within the university and continually transfers funds between budgets without approval.
Associate Vice President Bob Brown (“Just Plain Brown”): Assistant to the university president; refers to students as customers.
Dr. William Garcia: Member of the tenure and promotion committee from the Psychology department; close friend to Chairman X.
Dr. John Vernon Cates: Member of the tenure and promotion committee from the Chemistry department.
Joe Miller: Loren Stroop’s neighbor.
Read more about this topic: Moo (novel)
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“For our vanity is such that we hold our own characters immutable, and we are slow to acknowledge that they have changed, even for the better.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“There are characters which are continually creating collisions and nodes for themselves in dramas which nobody is prepared to act with them. Their susceptibilities will clash against objects that remain innocently quiet.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“White Pond and Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth, Lakes of Light.... They are too pure to have a market value; they contain no muck. How much more beautiful than our lives, how much more transparent than our characters are they! We never learned meanness of them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)