Characters
Collin Fenwick: An orphaned boy who takes up residence in a China tree with Dolly. When the story opens he is 11 years old, but he is 16 years old for the majority of the narrative; he is small for his age. Collin serves as both the protagonist and narrator of the novel.
Dolly Talbo: Aunt of Collin; she takes up residence in the China tree. Her character is based on Truman's older cousin, Sook Faulk.
Verena Talbo: Dolly's sister; she urges the Sheriff of the town to investigate the disappearance of her sister Dolly.
Morris Ritz: A man who woos Verena, and is popularly believed to open a factory with her but soon runs away with her money.
Catherine Creek: An African American servant who runs away with Dolly and Collin, and also takes up residence in the China tree.
Riley Henderson: A boy who becomes friends with Collin. He briefly takes up residence in the treehouse of the China tree.
Junius Candle: The town Sheriff; he is persistent in finding perpetrators and organizes a massive search party to find Collin and Dolly.
Judge Cool: He is considered the free thinker of the town and helps Dolly and Verena come to terms with one another. He is the "wise man" of society, and in general, solves conflicts posed in the novella.
Read more about this topic: The Grass Harp
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“Children pay little attention to their parent’s teachings, but reproduce their characters faithfully.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“When the characters are really alive before their author, the latter does nothing but follow them in their action, in their words, in the situations which they suggest to him.”
—Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936)
“My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that’s basically a conservative view of life.”
—Jane Smiley (b. 1949)