Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes - Character List

Character List

Eric “Moby” Calhoune: Narrator. Eric has always struggled with his weight, earning him the nickname “Moby” and the status of outcast. He earned the nickname Moby because he is able to stay under water for a long time, like a whale with its blow hole. He is best friends with fellow outcast Sarah Byrnes whose facial scarring caused her social problems. Eric is recruited by the swim coach, he begins to lose weight, and he fears that Sarah Byrnes will not remain friends with him if he is no longer fat.

Sarah Byrnes: Extreme facial and hand scarring resulted in her being a social outcast, and she has a somewhat bitter outlook on life. She becomes mute and catatonic in an honors class one day, apparently for no reason. It is discovered that she is afraid of her father, Virgil Byrnes, is going to continue to physically abuse her as he has in the past.

Steve Ellerby: Ellerby is Eric’s best male friend and a teammate on the swim team. His Christian cruiser shows blasphemy toward his dad and religion.

Dale Thornton: A bully that ironically ends up befriending Eric Calhoune and Sarah Byrnes because of his somewhat outcast status as someone who struggled in school and eventually dropped out.

Mark Brittain: Fellow team member and classmate, Mark is somewhat of a foil for Eric and Ellerby. Ellerby is the most self-actualized, Eric is in the process, but Mark’s rigid home life leads him to be easily goaded and often has his beliefs called into question. Mark attempts suicide after being unable to reconcile his beliefs with his actions.

Jody Mueller: Girlfriend of Mark Brittain originally, he convinces her to have an abortion the previous year, and then blames her for their actions as a couple. She somewhat feels the outcast stigma (internally at least as the abortion is a secret), and she befriends and begins dating Eric.

Ms. Cynthia Ellen Lemry: Swim team coach and teacher of the controversial class Contemporary American Thought. All characters (with the exception of Dale Thornton) are members of the class. Ms. Lemry is Eric’s mentor, and he goes to her when the problems with Sarah Byrnes surface. Eventually, Ms. Lemry adopts Sarah Byrnes.

Virgil Byrnes: Sarah Byrnes’s father. Virgil Byrnes is a violent and mentally unstable man who physically abused Sarah Byrnes when she was a child.

Carver Middleton: Eric's mother's boyfriend, who was a Vietnam War Veteran.

Mr. Mautz: The vice principal of Eric's school. He has a huge problem with "Crispy Pork Rinds".