Will Nash ATKM Post 3

Men

Hugh Miller- He resigned when Willie didn’t fire a corrupt state senator by the name of Byram White. Hugh plays a relatively small part in the book and is one of the few characters that have strong morals. One description of him said, "Harvard Law School, Lafayette Escadrille, Croix de Guerre, clean hands, pure heart.”

Sugar Boy- He is a simple and loyal character throughout the book. His actions mostly contribute to the sense that he will do anything for the boss.

Cass Mastern- Although he slept with the wife of his friend, he turned out to be a strong supporter of abolition and cared about the well being of all humans up to the point of his death.

Jack Burden- For most of the book Jack has a disregard for the feelings of others. This was portrayed with his development of the great twitch theory. He is not a bad character, but far from perfect.

Gilbert Mastern- Casses wealthy brother who took over the plantation in his absence. Seemed to do nothing wrong besides for owning slaves, which was an extremely common thing for a white in the south during this time period.

Scholarly Attorney- He abandoned Jack and his mother to care for “unfortunates.” I think that in his life, he did more good than bad and had a just reason for leaving Jacks mother.

Adam Stanton- He was an idealist, believing that the ends do not justify the means. He always seemed to stick to his views and do what he thought was right. In the end he snapped out of anger and confusion and killed Willie.

Judge Irwin- Despite accepting a bribe at one point his his career, the judge was just in his decisions the vast majority of the time. He also stepped into Jack’s life and played the role of a father figure even though Jack didn’t discover the truth until after his suicide.

Governor Stanton- He was one of the several corrupt politicians in the book. He protected Judge Irwin, knowing that the judge was guilty. He was not the worst though because he seemed to at least loyal to his friends.

Tom Talos- He is a stuck up and entitled teenager. He was involved with many poor decisions over the course of the book that led to him driving drunk and getting a girl pregnant.

Willie Talos- Over the course of the book, Willie progressed from an honest politician, to a manipulative drunk. He had multiple affairs and used bullied people into getting what he wanted.

Tiny Duffy- He earned himself the lowest rank by only doing things for himself. Although the boss did treat him badly, it was not worthy of Tiny Duffy setting up his death.

Women

Lucy-  She is no doubt one of the best characters in the book. Lucy stayed with Willie even when she knew that he was cheating. After the deaths of her son and husband, She raised what was said to be her sons child as a memory of him.

Phebe- She did nothing wrong, only suffered a harsh life because of the nasty people that she was surrounded by.

Anne- She was far from perfect, playing with Jacks heart and sleeping with Willie. But belongs relatively high on the list because she was not nearly as bad as some of the other characters.

Jack’s Mom- She belongs near the middle of the list. She did care about Jack but cannot be forgiven for lying to him about his real father for his entire life. She also has many men in her life as a means of dealing with her troubles.

Lois- She deserves a low ranking on the list. Jack did end the relationship, but she only married him for his family name.

Sadie- She only seemed to care about herself throughout the entire course of the novel. She slept with Jack and became obsessed with him. In the end she played an instrumental role in his death.

Annabelle Trice- She is a married woman who had an affair with Cass. She is at the bottom of the list because she sold Phebe to a dangerous owner out of anger.